This article discusses the library referenda in 2004. Some of the trends that emerged included: dueling libraries in Rhode Island, big wins for big cities, erosion of voter support for libraries in the Illinois heartland matched with the emergence of library support in the Southwest and the re-upping of big California taxes.

This report on the sequence of events and administrative decisions leading up to voter action on public library bond issues presents a description of the process that each of three Illinois cities went through. In two of the three cities a new library has no t been built because the bond issue referendums were defeated by the voters. In the third…

Uses ordinary least-squares multivariate regression analysis to determine if jurisdictional types vary in their willingness to increase taxation for schools, employing 892 education fund referenda conducted in Illinois from 1981 to 1989. Outcomes do differ by jurisdiction type. The strongest predictor is willingness to pay for higher taxes. (29…

This report consists of six individual reports that were done by staff members at the Library Research Center as part of the overall project. In Part I, "Financing Public Library Expansion: Case Studies of Three Defeated Bond Issue Referendums," Ruth G. Lindahl and William S. Berner analyze defeated library bond issue referendums in…