Ben Rothschild normally tries to avoid sending out mass messages or making requests over e-mail lists.
The Weinberg senior sent out an e-mail Sunday night asking for other Northwestern students’ support of Evanston’s two branch libraries by voting online in the city’s 2011 Budget Priorities Survey before it closed Tuesday at midnight.
Cutting Evanston’s two branch libraries was proposed last year to reduce the city’s deficit of more than $9 million. This year the city faces a deficit of $3.5 million.
“I just wanted to spread the word because I don’t think a lot of students are aware of the crisis the libraries are facing,” Rothschild said. “I thought this would be a good way to bring awareness. Northwestern students can have direct input in the matter.”
Rothschild’s e-mail went viral after he initially sent it to 10 friends, members of Brady Scholars Program, Sigma Chi’s e-mail list and 20 members of Dance Marathon.
“People are excited about it,” he said. “The issue maybe resonates with a lot of students.”
Rothschild said students should support the branch libraries because they offer the only community space in their wards.
This summer, Rothschild interned for Evanston Public Library Friends, an organization spearheading the movement to save the branch libraries despite city budget cuts, said Lori Keenan, EPL Friends’ vice president.
EPL Friends has also been trying to spread word about the survey but did not realize the potential role NU students would play “rocking the vote” in support of the branch libraries, Keenan said.
The Evanston City Council initially voted in February to close the branch libraries in March. Since March, branch library hours have been reduced by 25 percent, from 44 hours per week to 33 hours per week. The number of materials available at the branches has also decreased.
“They cut a lot of fat and muscle, and now they’re cutting bone,” Keenan said.
Another student library supporter, Erica Federman, said she realized the importance of the branch libraries during her social media internship with EPL Friends.
“Even though I think a lot of students go to the (University) Library, the North and South Branches have a lot to offer,” the Weinberg senior said.
Federman said Evanston residents support the NU community by providing job opportunities, offering student discounts and rallying at home football games. Supporting the branch libraries is one way NU students can give back to the Evanston community, she said.
The city’s Budget Priorities Survey asks residents to vote for five city services they value most as well as five cost savings or revenue enhancements they think the city should pursue.
Keenan said she was surprised to see “Close Library Branches” among the survey’s cost-saving options after city officials said they would not consider closing the branches at last week’s budget session, which was open to citizen input.
The branch libraries were mistakenly added to the survey options, City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said.
Rather than take down the live survey and make the correction, the city will not take potential votes for closing the branch libraries into consideration, Bobkiewicz said.
“It was a cutting and pasting error,” he said. “We’ll discount whatever votes are there.”
This is the second year the city decided to seek further input from the community about the budget through an online survey, Bobkiewicz said.
“People are busy,” he said. “There’s no one good way to reach out to people. We’re trying to get as much input as we can.”
