Ann Arbor deserves a great downtown library!
Please vote YES for the $65m bond proposal to provide Ann Arbor with a world-class building to match its world-class library system.
The Vision
What will it offer our community?
The Vote
What will it mean for you?
Comparisons
The library, by the numbers.
An Inadequate Current Building
- Core infrastructure prohibits critical upgrades for technology, energy efficiency and proper accessibility
- Insufficient space for study, research, youth programming, archives, meetings, collections, and computers
- Originally built in 1958 and already renovated twice – it's an unsustainable framework to adapt in the 21st century
Now is the Best Time to Build
- Interest rates are near historic lows and construction costs are as low as they’ve been in years
- Advances in green building technology will significantly reduce operating and maintenance costs
- 0.56 mils = Only $56/year for a $200,000 home
Proven & Responsive Library Leadership
- Built three new branches within budget, on time and sensitive to environmental concerns
- Maintains a balanced budget and voluntarily reduced costs to taxpayers in 2009
- Has an elected, publicly accountable board of directors, separate from the City and DDA
A Dynamic New Library for Everyone
- Encourages exploration of books and discovery of digital media, offers exceptional access and exceeds efficiency standards
- Provides welcoming, well-designed spaces for study, meetings, research, hands-on learning, collaboration and more
- Public participation will factor into final design and features
It would be easy to assume in the world of constant connectivity, instant communication and ever smaller, cheaper and ubiquitous electronic devices that a library is now a useless anachronism of modern society. That couldn't be further from the truth. We desperately need places to connect with history, with art, with knowledge and with each other. The vision that the Ann Arbor District Library has for a reinvention of our public library as a resource for our entire community, and one that takes into consideration how the world has changed in seeking knowledge, makes their proposal compelling and essential. We take great pride in our community: our downtown, our parks, our schools, our children and how we take care of all of them together. A library is one of those key resources that we as leaders can only bring about as a whole community working together.
" - Rich Sheridan, Menlo Innovations (Read More)
The Vision
What will it offer our community?
The Vote
What will it mean for you?
Comparisons
The library, by the numbers.An Inadequate Current Building
- Core infrastructure prohibits critical upgrades for technology, energy efficiency and proper accessibility
- Insufficient space for study, research, youth programming, archives, meetings, collections, and computers
- Originally built in 1958 and already renovated twice – it's an unsustainable framework to adapt in the 21st century
Now is the Best Time to Build
- Interest rates are near historic lows and construction costs are as low as they’ve been in years
- Advances in green building technology will significantly reduce operating and maintenance costs
- 0.56 mils = Only $56/year for a $200,000 home
Proven & Responsive Library Leadership
- Built three new branches within budget, on time and sensitive to environmental concerns
- Maintains a balanced budget and voluntarily reduced costs to taxpayers in 2009
- Has an elected, publicly accountable board of directors, separate from the City and DDA
A Dynamic New Library for Everyone
- Encourages exploration of books and discovery of digital media, offers exceptional access and exceeds efficiency standards
- Provides welcoming, well-designed spaces for study, meetings, research, hands-on learning, collaboration and more
- Public participation will factor into final design and features
It would be easy to assume in the world of constant connectivity, instant communication and ever smaller, cheaper and ubiquitous electronic devices that a library is now a useless anachronism of modern society. That couldn't be further from the truth. We desperately need places to connect with history, with art, with knowledge and with each other. The vision that the Ann Arbor District Library has for a reinvention of our public library as a resource for our entire community, and one that takes into consideration how the world has changed in seeking knowledge, makes their proposal compelling and essential. We take great pride in our community: our downtown, our parks, our schools, our children and how we take care of all of them together. A library is one of those key resources that we as leaders can only bring about as a whole community working together.
" - Rich Sheridan, Menlo Innovations (Read More)
