Odds stacked against libraries as cities feel pinch. Some close book on facilities, others cut hours, access. (Detroit News, 3/26/2011)
Excerpt: The May 1 closing of the 40,000-square-foot, 49-year-old Troy Public Library, one of the busiest statewide with a circulation of 1.36 million items and 700,000 annual visits, is a stark reminder of painful budget choices facing communities across Metro Detroit. In Wayne County, the Romulus city library closes the same day, after a February millage vote to save it failed. And throughout the region, many other public libraries have reduced hours and services.
The cutbacks come as polls show public library usage is on the rise in Michigan. So when some communities shut the doors for good, where are patrons supposed to go?
Around Troy, most nearby libraries offer services only to residents or patrons living in communities with reciprocity agreements or contracts. In other cases, nonresidents will be required to pay about $100 to $170 a year for a library card to check out materials and register for adult and children's programs.
Representatives of the remaining libraries worry about the possibility of overcrowding and resource shortages if outside residents start visiting.
Related articles:
Troy library to close May 1. (2/23/2011)
Troy Michigan (population: 80,000) still on track to close its library. (2/8/2011)
Voters wave bye-bye to their library. (11/3/2010)
Giving voters more choices than they need. (8/13/2010)
Library threatened with closure, part 2. (5/19/2010)
Library threatened with closure, part 1. (4/25/2010)
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