Q&A Session on the Ballot Questions

Drop-In Q&A Session on Ballot Questions with Dartmouth Town Officials
Representatives will be on hand from the Town of Dartmouth to answer questions related to the Public Safety, Dept. of Public Works, Veteran Services, Health and Sanitation, Council on Aging, General Government, Park and Recreation, Schools and the Library.

• Southworth Library Haskell Auditorium
• Monday March 31, 2008
• Anytime between 2 pm and 6 pm

• Be an informed voter.
• Get a sample of the ballot before you vote.
•  Read it over and ask any questions you may have.

Dartmouth Town Library in the News as Election Approaches

The library has been showing up in local newspapers frequently in recent days and even on television on Channel 10’s evening news on Friday March 21st at 5 and 6 pm.

The Boston Globe articles:

Support for Libraries Overdue 3/25/08 Boston Globe Editorial.

2 Towns Weigh Privatizing Libraries 3/20/08 by Connie Paige.

New Bedford Standard Times articles:
Library Web Site Has Candidate Information, Video Interviews 3/18/08 by Curt Brown.

New Bedford Standard Times letters to the Editor :
Parents can’t homeschool without libraries 3/23/08 by Bernard Roth.

Library SOS 3/21/08 by Hope Atkinson.

Librarians Keep Collection Vital 3/20/08 by Ellen Hamilton.

Let’s Not Trash Our Libraries 3/18/08 by Richard Ward.

Support Libraries in Override Vote 3/19/08 by Denise Medeiros.

The Chronicle (Dartmouth weekly paper) articles
FinCom Reviews Police and Library Budgets 3/12/08 by Daniel King.

Dartmouth Cable Television Airs Dept. Head Interviews on Town Ballot Questions

Local Cable’s access channel in Dartmouth, DCTV Channel 18, has begun airing interviews of Dartmouth town officials outlining the Override Questions on the April 1st 2008 ballot and the expected impact of a yes or no vote. Departments featured include:

• Council on Aging
• Town Hall Departments
• Department of Public Works
• School Department
• Police Department
• Library
• Park & Recreation

View the Schedule for when these interviews air and learn more about the changes in town services that will result depending on the election.

Library Director Talks Budgets in YouTube Interview

Library Trustee Paul Pereira interviews Library Director Denise Medeiros on the subject of the April 1, 2008 Election in Dartmouth. Two ballot questions asking for an override of Prop. 2 1/2 pertain directly to the library as well as a debt exclusion question which would fund a new roof, paving the parking lot and a HVAC system for Southworth Library. Denise discusses what the consequences of a yes or no vote will mean, including possible loss of certification, resource-sharing with other libraries, staff layoffs, reduced hours and greatly reduced budget for book buying.

Watch the videos:

Denise Medeiros with Paul Pereira on Prop. 2 1/2, Part 1

Denise Medeiros with Paul Pereira on Prop. 2 1/2, Part 2

YouTube Video Interviews of Dartmouth Select Board Candidates Go Live

The YouTube Video interviews of the two candidates for Dartmouth Select Board are now available for viewing. They are included on the candidates page of the Online Voter Guide created for the Dartmouth Public Libraries website.

Southworth Library is proud to feature for the first time ever videos of candidates for Dartmouth town office available for viewing on the Internet.

Kathleen Horan McLean and Bill Trimble discuss their views on the issues and what they hope to accomplish if they are elected. Both address the current fiscal crisis in Dartmouth and share their opinion of the Prop. 2 1/2 override questions as well as the possibility of the town going into receivership.

Smart Voting Begins at the Library

The Dartmouth Public Libraries has created an online Voter Guide with resources for the local town election on April 1st and the Presidential election in November.

• Find out who is running for Dartmouth Town Office.
• Read their Candidate Statements.
• Watch the Select Board Candidates interviewed on YouTube.
• Find out where you vote and how to register.
• Read the Ballot Questions.

Library Journal blogger Raya Kuzyk has been studying what libraries are doing related to the election and she praised the Dartmouth Library guide in the LJ Insider Blog post Dartmouth PL Online Voter Guide a Real Standout:

“one of the finer pages I’ve seen in my ongoing survey of public libraries’ election-education initiatives: easily accessible, simply organized and straightforwardly designed, serious, informative and with a winning catch phrase: “Smart Voting Begins at the Library.”

The guide was created by Dartmouth Public Libraries webmaster/reference librarian Sharani Robins and Matt Sylvain, reference librarian at UMass Dartmouth.