Cities and states across the country are struggling with tight budgets, cuts in services and the prospect of raising taxes. That can seem especially challenging in small towns, which have scarce resources and limited alternatives. In isolated Fossil, Ore., population 450, the budget axe recently fell on a cherished local institution -- the town library.
But as NPR's Howard Berkes reports, book lovers in Fossil are fighting back. One out of every four people in town is a dues-paying member of a group called Friends of the Fossil Library. In October, volunteers staged a murder-mystery weekend that raised close to $1,000 for the library -- 10 percent of the yearly budget. With volunteers, the money will be enough to keep the library -- a collection of some 4,500 hundred books crammed into a former garage -- open for two hours a day, three days a week.
But that won't last long, and library advocates are working on ways to secure more reliable funding. Plans under consideration include the creation of a special library district and tax, and a possible partnership with a neighboring county.
To contribute to the Fossil Library, send checks to:
Friends of the Fossil Library
P.O. Box 505
Fossil, OR 97830
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