Voters in southern Leavenworth County will determine next week whether the Linwood Library district will expand.

The special election will decide whether the library’s district, which extends into Reno and most of Sherman townships, will expand to include all Sherman and Reno townships.

The election will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Linwood Community Center, in the 300 block of Main in Linwood. The center occupies space in the same building as the library.

Residents in Sherman and Reno townships who are not in the district pay library taxes to the Northeast Kansas Library System in Lawrence.

If the measure passes Tuesday, all township residents would pay taxes to the Linwood Library rather than the Northeast Kansas Library System.

Carolyn Wise, on the Linwood Friends of the Library Board, said the group pursued the election to improve library revenue.

“Those are areas that are not included in any library district,” Wise said. “We would like to bring those into our district so tax dollars would help our library.”

Arlene Pritchard, also on the Friends of the Library board, said the group explored the district expansion because of a downward trend in funding. The Northeast Kansas Library System has reduced funding gradually each year. Yet book costs, salaries and rent are increasing.

Leavenworth County Clerk Linda Scheer said she has received calls from Reno Township residents who said they weren’t aware of the special election. A legal notice about the election was published in the Aug. 29 edition of The Tonganoxie Mirror.