Community gets angry over budget reductions

Community gets angry over budget reductions

Keywords: Community relations, Public libraries, Library users, Closure

Dateline: Savannah, Georgia

In Savannah the community protests were more effective. The Chatham-Effingham-Liberty Regional Library board had planned on closing the Thunderbolt branch, a neighborhood library that dates back to the 1930s. The board had announced its $62 million plan, which involved shutting down several smaller branches and replacing them with one centralized library. The protesters, who numbered about 50, were enough to constitute a standing-room-only crowd in the town council chambers for the special public hearing on July 18. Among concerns raised were the safety of children walking to the new location and the needs of the elderly who might not be able to drive to a different location.

With their petitions and handmade protest buttons, the protesters were sufficiently persuasive to convince the library board not to proceed. "We have no intention of going forward with a plan not accepted by our customers,"Library Director Bill Johnson said. "I'm not going to fight a room full of people. I am persuaded." He also encouraged them to bring their concerns to the Chatham County Commission, which has proposed budget cuts and hiring freezes that will have an adverse effect on libraries. http://www.ala.org/alonline/news/2001/010723.html