All:
The Minneapolis Library is having some serious budget cuts along with
the city, county, and state. But, unlike the other units of government,
it's apparently happening below everyone's radar. One reason is probably
that the Library Administration is apparently doing it with minimal public
notice. It was that they were announced at closing time on Friday and the
cuts are to be considered at next Wednesday's Library Board meeting. To
read the official information about it, go to:
http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/board_agenda.asp
When you get to that page, look at agenda item (8) (m) and then click on
"Attachments 1 2 3" to read the staff recommendations. They are in Acrobat
format.
The guts of the changes is the layoff of 45 to 50 staff, the reduction of
hours, and the elimination of some services. What is probably the biggest
news, though, is that the Walker Community Library in Uptown is proposed for
total closing. The interesting part of that is that the Walker Library is
one of the most heavily used community libraries rather than one of the
least used. One would normally suspect that the least used facilities would
be the one considered for elimination for budget reasons.
The reason is "due to structural repairs." This is an apparent reference to
the surface parking lot at the site. (For those who may not be aware of it,
the Walker Library is a relatively new building and is all underground --
under the parking lot to be exact.) The parking lot leaks into the
building. It was supposed to have been fixed years ago but somehow it never
happened. The responsibility to fix the parking lot and building is the
city's responsibility not the library's. But, as already known, the city
doesn't have money for the repairs. So, it's like the "for want of a
nail,..." scenario. Because the library parking lot wasn't fixed when it
should have been, and because there isn't the money to fix it now, the
building will be abandoned, the library closed, and the people in Uptown
will have to see where they want to go for library facilities.
It's also possible that the Franklin and Sumner libraries will close while
they are being reconstructed rather than keeping them open in temporary
facilities.
But read it all and weep -- particularly if you live in Uptown. This is
what you get when "no new taxes" is the bill of goods that the governor has
sold to everyone.
Steve Cross
Prospect Park
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