Posing as a clandestine political group, we began by posting 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, eBay, 'help wanted' ads, 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 galvanised support for the library - which won the election by a landslide.

Due to a struggling economy, Troy, Michigan could no longer afford its library, so it scheduled a vote for a 0.7% tax increase. With no organised support for the library, a well-funded anti-tax group had been waging a dominating campaign against it. 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 and all the services it provides. We had to get Yes voters to the polls.

For a community of only 80,000 residents, we ignited a social media conversation that generated over 650,000 impressions on Facebook and Twitter alone, and over 1m impressions worldwide. And on election day, Yes voters, the most difficult voters to mobilise, turned out at levels 342% greater than projected. And they turned out at levels 375% greater than surrounding communities with similar votes for tax increases. All with a budget of only US$3,500.

With little money and only 6 weeks until the vote, we couldn’t rely on paid media to break through voter indifference. We had to get voters to do it for us. With social media at the core, the idea of burning a library’s books managed to stir a global conversation about a local issue. It helped an entire community realise 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.