Proposal to shutter Miami-Dade libraries draws fire. (Miami Herald, 11/14/2011)
Excerpt: A decade ago, the county launched a library expansion plan that resulted in the opening of 18 branches. Now many of those would be closed. The reductions would save about $18 million, while eliminating 191 jobs in an overall plan that eliminates 1,292 positions countywide.
“This is one of the most difficult things any of us have had to do,” said Library Director Raymond Santiago. “But it is a tough time, and tough choices were made.”
The move comes as [Mayor] Gimenez is seeking to make good on his campaign promise to erase the highly unpopular property tax-rate increase passed under former mayor Carlos Alvarez and reduce the size of government.
“Libraries are a major civic asset. Cutting back on them is shortsighted,” said Daniella Levine, president and CEO of Catalyst Miami, a non-profit that deals with issues of community well-being and poverty.
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