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Measure L on the March 8th ballot is a City Charter amendment that relocates money from Los Angeles’ general fund to the public library system, thus providing the financially strapped learning centers with a greater share of the city’s revenue without raising taxes. Although the measure has some opposition—most notably the Los Angeles Times and surprisingly the police union—Measure L has garnered support from a host of civic leaders and organizations, neighborhood councils, writers, librarians, and elected officials—including 14 out of 15 City Council members and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. A year and a half ago, however, it was Mayor Villaraigosa and the 10 City Council members—including the author of Measure L, Bernard Parks—who approved the 2010-2011 budget, which cut $22 million from libraries. This action by the mayor directly led to the closing of the city’s central and eight regional libraries on Sundays and all 73 libraries on Mondays. In the ensuing vacuum, library services were cut in order to compensate for the millions of dollars that were once used to staff and purchase materials for the libraries, but now were being redirected to utilities and employee benefits. As a result of these austerity measures, library officials estimated 15,000 youths — in addition to countless adults— are denied access to crucial networking and educational resources. According to the LA Weekly, Los Angeles joined Detroit as being one of two major U.S. municipalities to take such drastic actions in closing library doors twice weekly.

GUEST: Roy Stone, President of the Librarians’ Guild

There will be an event on Sunday March 6th from 10-11:30 am at the LA High Memorial Park (4625 W Olympic Blvd) in support of Measure L, featuring Authors, Speakers, Musicians, and a Magic Show.

Find out more about Measure L at www.savethelibrary.org and www.yesonlibraries.com.