6 Detroit Public Library Branches Being Considered for Closure

Chase Branch

Detroiters may lose 6 libraries. Layoffs have left staffing short, officials say. (Detroit News, 8/24/2011)

Excerpt:    Detroit Public Library officials again are considering branch closures, saying layoffs from March have stretched staffing too thin.

Administrators on Tuesday said the system needs to close six of 23 branches by October — an announcement that comes three months after officials abandoned massive branch closure plans.

That has upset residents such as Erin Carter, who searches for jobs using computers at the Chase branch in northwest Detroit that is recommended for closure.

"There is so much stuff closing down," said Carter, 22. "I don't know where to go."

Mark Twain Annex

The small library at Seven Mile and Southfield Freeway was packed Tuesday afternoon and every computer was in use. Fifteen-year-old Brandon Thomas and his neighbor, 12-year-old Kalan Lewis, rode their bikes to the library for the first time Wednesday to pick up some books and look for the Civil War movie, "Glory."

"They shouldn't close it," Kalan said. "It's for kids. We need to be able to learn what we don't learn in school."

Administrators also are recommending closing Chandler Park, Lincoln, the Mark Twain Annex, Monteith and Richard branches and replacing the children's library at the Douglass branch with a technology center.

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