md wrote:
Yes, it's true. The citizens of Minneapolis voted for the referendum to fund a New Central Library.
But I don't think we voted for a New Central Palace.
WM: But we did vote for the building we're getting. The referendum was
clearly laid out: $30 million for community libraries, $110 million for
the new library. The referendum the library wanted was $140 million for
the downtown library. SSB, et.al. insisted that the $140 mil include the
money for community libraries.
I did not vote for fancy glass walls and custom quarried stone. I voted for a library where what
I can learn inside is more important than what's outside.
WM: No, you voted for the library we're getting, fancy or not so fancy.
Actually, compared to what other places are paying for a new central
library, this one comes fairly cheap.
I did not vote for a museum worthy collection of priceless art. I voted for rotating exhibits of
artwork from the members of our community and more of the displays the library used to have
of its books, posters and manuscripts.
WM: Art or any sort was not in the referendum. The referendum was bricks
and mortar only.
I did not vote for a "green roof" which will be expensive to maintain, and probably have limited accessibilty.
I voted for a few trees, maybe some grass, a small oasis where people could read, or listen or dream.
I did not vote for fancy fundraisers with the wealthy elite or a library so elegant, that the homeless
people who used to play chess there will be banned because they'll clash with the decor.
WM: Oh, please. You don't know that the chess players will be removed. I
seriously doubt they will be. Fancy fundraisers are needed to complete
the project. That's where the captains of industry get a chance to shine
and flash money and pay some of the freight on this venture.
Some grand libraries were built in the past...like the original Walker Library. But these
were the funded by wealthy industrialists like Walker and Carnegie....so it was private philanthropy
not public money that built them.
WM: I hope you didn't think they would keep that up forever. The
libraries are an institution whose upkeep and expansion was left to the
cities where they were placed. Carnegie fully expected that
municipalities would take over the care and feeding of the libraries
once they were in place.
I know that the referendum money is separate from the "operations" money that keeps the
libraries open, buys materials and computers and pays the staff, but the money should not
be separate.
WM: You voted for the referendum. You did not vote to commingle funds.
State funding for libraries, which includes books, staff, all
operations, is done on a per capita basis.
I know that the referendum money is all for the New Central Palace and probably could not
be shared to repair Walker Library's leaking roof deck, or replace the ancient furnace
of another library or renovate East Lake, or fund the temporary location of Franklin Library.
But it should have been.
WM: The $30 mil. is there to fund Walker's roof (except that the
councilman for Walker's ward wants that land for commercial purposes and
to push the library into a smaller space or another space). It's there
to renovate East Lake, and to fund the refurbishment of Franklin and the
repairs to Linden Hills, the refurbished Sumner. You voted for that, too.
What I'm talking about is what is needed and what is necessary versus what is excessive
and not needed. What I'm talking about is what makes a library a library. The building
is just a box sheltering the real treasure inside.
WM: Then you'll have to talk to the library board. For at least the last
twenty years the boards of the library have been inching up on their
edifice complex till they finally realized their dreams in the 2000
elections. You had plenty of time to influence their decisions over that
period. We all did; however, library board meetings are usually poorly
attended. We were also warned by Wally Swan, Bd. of Estimates and
Taxation, that the referendum would make the city shaky financially. Not
enough people paid attention.
T-H-E W-I-N-G, be it cement, or steel (titanium?) or whatever it is symbolizes nothing more to
me than an incredible, extravagant waste. It's like giving a Faberge egg to a hungry kid.
WM: Bull. The wing is a modern version of gargoyles or pillars, or
carved stone or marble, all of which materials have gone into libraries
over the centuries. Generally, the central library of a bigger city is
"supposed to be" an edifice. Why that is, I have no idea, but I'm glad
it's more than a K-Mart for book readers. I like a little edifice with
my research.
WizardMarks, Central
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