So true. “Promises” by public officials include their official actions: laws, ordinances, codes…and dedications. When leaders live up to their promises, it helps to build trust all the way around.
The public trust is non-negotiable. “Inviolable,” you might say. Back at Christmastime 1996, we placed OUR trust in a large group of Erie area leaders, including the Bishop of the Erie Diocese and the President of Gannon University, who gathered to dedicate the newly built Blasco Memorial Library. Funded partly by generous donations, the Blasco Library is held in trust by elected officials, but it belongs to all of us.
Believing that the public trust was violated by the 2023 lease of the Blasco Library to Gannon University, we formed “Keep Our Library Public” (KOLP), and have sued to have the lease invalidated. Unchecked, it will certainly have future negative implications for libraries and other public spaces in Erie County. While we don’t presume to tell librarians how to run the library, we DO take exception to the people who are trying to give the library away to a private entity.
Erie County citizens can take a cue from other communities, who have joined together to defend their libraries, in some cases raising millions of dollars. Please join us. You can show your support especially by making a donation today to the KOLP Library legal defense fund. Join us today!
You can also help spread the word by downloaded flyers here: Promises flyers
“The whole point of promises is to build TRUST. If there’s no trust, none of this is possible. No libraries, no roads, no power lines.”
~Mom, “Bluey” episode : Promises
Keep Our Library Public! 