Oct 18, 2014 2 min read

2014 has been a difficult but exciting year for the Chartiers-Houston Community Library. Since April, when we were informed of the loss of funding from the Chartiers-Houston School District, we have been working very hard both within the library and with Chartiers Township supervisors to keep the library open. We also lost one-third of our funding and most of our staff for reasons unrelated to the loss of money from the school district.

The residents of Houston and Chartiers Township have been extremely generous in their response to our postcard fundraising campaign as well as to the Washington County Community Foundation’s Day of Giving. The proceeds from our fundraising efforts, including our spaghetti dinner on Oct. 26, will enable us to stay open well into next year.

The fundraising efforts have saved us for the short run. But what we need is reliable recurring funding to allow the library to survive and thrive in the future. Toward that end, Chartiers Township has placed a referendum on the ballot which, if approved, will provide two mills of tax revenue that would go directly to the library. I urge residents to vote yes on this referendum, which will then allow us to concentrate on library matters and not worry about paying the bills. Approval will also allow us to search for and hire a qualified library director.

William R. Hill

Houston

Hill is the president of the board of trustees at the Chartiers-Houston Community Library and the acting library director.