Dear Friends,

I am sorry to bring you such terrible news, but the library is facing an unprecedented threat. Today, April 6, at 6:00 pm the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors will meet to discuss their budget for the coming year. One of the topics for discussion may be whether to underfund library services in Spotsylvania. This means that Salem Church Branch, Snow Branch, Towne Centre Branch, and the satellite locations at Partlow and Belmont could go away or have hours or services drastically reduced. No more meeting rooms, morning or evening hours, public computers, tax prep, storytimes, or databases. This could mean substandard library services or no libraries at all.

We were alarmed when we saw this video, and we now understand that the library has received a request from the county to explain what the impact would be if library funding in Spotsylvania were reduced or eliminated.

Fundraising is a role the Friends are very familiar with, and we are proud to support professional development for library staff and programs that our community values, but Friends' fundraising cannot substitute for jurisdictions investing in award-winning library services that their constituents depend on. We believe a fully funded library uplifts all of the community, and a community without public libraries has had opportunities for learning, enrichment, mobility, and literacy stolen away.

Friends cannot let this happen.

Please email the Board at BOS@Spotsylvania.va.us and copy us at bettertogether@crrlfriends.org. We want to get copies of your messages, so we can make sure your voices are heard. We will share your statements on our social media (after removing your name) and present a complete record of all messages to the Board, so they won't miss a word.

Please share this newsletter with every Spotsylvania resident you know, and point them to our Facebook. We've been given an astonishingly short amount of time to respond, and we need your help in raising the alarm. We may have just hours left to save our library.

Candace Schmidt, Friends President

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