Librarians Refuse To Sit Down And Shut Up
“I spent a shivering couple of hours Monday morning with Chicago Public Library workers protesting outside the Bucktown-Wicker Park Branch,” Mark Brown writes for the Sun-Times in “Libraries Have Become More Than Just A Quiet Place To Read.”
“There was hot chocolate and picket signs. ‘Honk if you love libraries,’ was the most popular, judging by the constant refrain of horns sounding along Milwaukee Avenue.
“The library, of course, was closed, as all branch libraries will continue to be closed on Monday mornings in Chicago for the foreseeable future.
“Closing them was Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s call, although this particular location is among the half of branch libraries always closed on Monday and Wednesday mornings under the alternating schedule instituted by Mayor Daley two years ago.
“That was when the library system first slashed its hours to 48 a week from the previous 64 in a cost-cutting move.
“It’s a sorry state of affairs for a great city, a problem not even half-solved by Emanuel’s announcement over the weekend that he will reopen the branches for half-days on Monday afternoons starting next month.”
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“Has Emanuel Met His Match In Chicago Librarians?”
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“After weeks of negotiations, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Saturday that the city’s 76 branch libraries will reopen most Monday afternoons starting Feb. 6 and that he will hire back 65 of laid off workers,” the Tribune reports.
“But the libraries will still be closed most Monday mornings, and 107 library workers will remain laid off.”
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“The move is still getting some criticism,” WBEZ reports. “Monday morning library workers and community members gathered at three branches, including the Little Village library.
“They chanted, ‘Mayor Emanuel, listen up! Please don’t make theses awful cuts!’ as motorists drove down Kedzie Ave., many of them honking in support.
“Bridgeport branch librarian Jeremy Kitchen said he’s all for branches re-opening Monday afternoons, but only if they’re adequately staffed. He said the recent closures of Mondays has been ‘crazy’ for his branch.
“‘The cuts affect us in many ways. We come into overflowing book drops – to boxes and boxes of books that we have to process to get out to people. We’re not able to give the customer service that we take a lot of pride in,’ Kitchen said.”
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See also: Rahm Plays Library Card.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on January 24, 2012