The Douglas County Library System is in danger of closing next July due to a lack of funding. To prevent that from happening, a group of library supporters is taking the necessary steps to form a library service district, which would collect taxes to fund the headquarters library in Roseburg and the 10 branch libraries across the county.

Formation of the district would be left to the voters of Douglas County to decide in the May 2012 election. Voters who live in the county's incorporated cities, however, will only be able to vote on the district if their city council approves a resolution allowing them to do so.

Representatives of the Library Futures and Save our Libraries Political Action Committees will speak to each of the county's 12 city councils this month and next about the proposed library service district.

The Oakland City Council will be the first to hear the presentation this Tuesday. Glendale, Drain and Yoncalla councils will have presentations the following week and the subject will come before the Roseburg City Council on Oct. 24.

The rest of the cities will be approached in November.

We urge each city council to approve the resolution to allow its residents to vote on the district's formation. We encourage residents of the cities to show up at the council meetings or call their representatives and recommend that the council give them the opportunity to vote.

This is important because if a city's residents aren't given the opportunity to vote on the district's formation, that city will be left out of the library district boundaries. That will mean certain closure of the city's library unless some other funding is discovered.

Furthermore, if the library service district is approved by voters, residents of cities that opted out of the district will likely have to pay for out-of-district library cards, which are expected to cost $50 each to use the library and its services.

Because forming a library service district is a new and unfamiliar entity, councilors and residents alike are bound to have a lot of questions about how a district would work and what it will cost.

There is plenty of time between now and May to educate residents on those details. First, the cities must indicate if they will give their residents the right to vote so the district boundaries can be established and the measure placed on the ballot.

For the library system to operate most efficiently and fairly, it would be best if every city were included in the library service district.

It's important for all residents to be able to participate in the democratic process of exercising their right to vote. We hope the city councils across the county will remember that when approached by library supporters.

Deciding the future of our libraries is an issue everyone must vote on, not just a few.