In 2010, due to a struggling economy, Troy, Michigan could no longer afford its library. So it scheduled a vote for a tax increase. A well-funded anti-tax group ran an aggressive campaign against it and the vote failed. In the fall of 2010, the city tried again, this time asking voters to pass a dedicated, library-only tax increase. Again, the anti-tax group campaigned against it and the vote failed amidst allegations of ballot tampering and fraud. In June of 2011, library supporters came to us for help after getting the city to approve one last vote for a tax increase. In order to win the vote and save the library, we knew we had to change the conversation. We had to get voters to stop talking about the tax increase, and start talking about what it would mean to lose their award-winning library. But we were facing multiple obstacles, not the least of which was being in one of the worst economies in state history, asking voters to approve a tax increase they had already voted down twice. With little money and only weeks until the vote, we knew we had to do something extreme.

Posing as a clandestine political group, we posted signs around Troy that said, “Vote to close Troy library Aug 2, Book Burning Party Aug 5.” Our signs invited a shocked and infuriated public to our Facebook page, and we added Twitter, Foursquare, flyers and more to help drive engagement. The campaign grew from local to international news as outcry over the idea of burning the library’s books drowned out the opposition and galvanized support for the library - which won by a landslide.

With a budget of only $3500 (US), we knew we couldn’t rely on paid media to break through voter indifference. So we got voters to do it for us. For an audience of just 80,000 residents, we ignited a social media conversation generating over 650,000 impressions on Facebook and Twitter alone, and an estimated one million impressions worldwide. And with a mere $3500, we garnered a return on investment in the library worth over $54 million.

In the end, we managed to stir a global conversation about a local issue and helped a community realize that whether the books are sold or burned, the result is the same - if the vote failed, the library and its books would be gone forever.