Will the Boys "Vote Yes for the Library?"

The "vote yes for the library" campaign currently underway in Larryville is easily the most important local progressive movement since we all rallied to "save the T," and perhaps even more important, since we actually use the Lawrence Public Library. If you're a true townie, you're currently on a number of waiting lists to receive various DVDs and books (most of the EastSide is slated to finish David Simon's HBO masterwork The Wire in about 2017).

But do local citizens love the library enough to pay higher property taxes for a 20 year period to fund an $18 million expansion? We'll find out next month. In the meantime, the Journal World embarks today on a four-part series exploring the issues. Today's first installment lays out the exact nature of the expansion, which includes a three-level parking garage and reading rooms overlooking Watson Park.

Will the boys vote yes?

Richard: "I assume the expansion means that the library will have more copies of Franzen's Freedom, so I'm for it."

Chip: "I'm against it, using the same logic."

And what about the LJ-World talkbackers? We haven't checked in with them in awhile.

WHY says: "Vote no. Save your money and buy the books you want yourself. If the library needs some repairs fine, but increasing parking for the pool and making more room for the homeless to hang out is not a good use of limited resources."

skinny says: "Vote NO!! Everything is going digital anyway. Read it online!"

And Solomon says: "I will vote against any spending measure in this town until our streets are fixed."

So if the talkback is in any way representative of local sentiment, there's no way in hell we're getting a better library. But we assume our local progressives are too busy planting "vote yes for the library" signs around town to get on-line and argue with the LJ-World regulars.