It’s not popular these days in some circles to be well-read, and as I write this, the  Craighead County Jonesboro Library is coming under serious attack.

A woman named Sharon Stallings turned in petition signatures today to cut the library’s millage funding in half, from two mills to one mill, said County Clerk Leslie Penney.

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Penney said her office hoped to have the signatures counted and verified no later than tomorrow. Only 100 signatures are needed to get on the Nov. 8 ballot, Penney said.

State Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, said in an email that he would ask Stallings to call us. He referred us to the county clerk’s office when we asked him about the proposal earlier today.

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The library in northeast Arkansas has come under attack before. The Arkansas Times reported in January that a 2021 Pride Month display in the Jonesboro Library’s children’s section, with its seemingly anodyne books about two penguin dads and a bear who felt more like a bunny, set off a months-long battle over what content the library should offer and where to keep it. The library director at the time, David Eckert, ended up leaving for a job in Iowa.

We were surprised that voters could still put such an issue on the ballot this close to Election Day. Penney said she was, too, but said they can under Amendment 38 to the Arkansas Constitution. That amendment allows for a citizen-petitioned vote on library millage.

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