Friday, January 30, 2004
The board will hold three meetings to get public comment on the plan.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Seven years from now, Mahoning County should have fewer, but larger and better, public library branches with longer hours of service, according to a new strategic plan.
The plan, given to the board of trustees of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County on Thursday, calls for eventually reducing the number of branches from 19 to 13 or 14.
The plan was prepared by Himmel & amp; Wilson library consultants of Milton, Wis., and presented to the board by library director Carlton A. Sears. After a series of public comment meetings, the board will revisit the plan in a special meeting at 4 p.m. March 4 at the main library.
"Because you have so many libraries that are open few hours, there's a lot of lost opportunity," for access to library materials and computers under the current 19-branch arrangement, Sears said. "It does a disservice to the public to invest in these things and have them sitting in dark buildings," he added.
Plans for branches
Under the plan, the North Lima, North Jackson and Lowellville branches, which are all experiencing low patronage, would close.
Youngstown's North Side branch at 1344 Fifth Ave., which is only 1.2 miles from the main library, would cease to function as a walk-in branch and become the home of Special Outgoing Services, which would relocate there from the West Side branch. SOS mails books to shut-ins.
That didn't sit well with Mon-t Ladson of Crandall Avenue, who told the board, "That's our library. They already took all the [community] centers away. Now, if you take the library away, the kids really have nothing." He also said it's impractical for children to cross major thoroughfares while walking to the main library, especially in the winter.
Kathleen O'Connell Sauline, library supervisor for the Youngstown City Schools, restated her opposition to closing any of the city's branches, saying libraries are crucial to city schools' literacy initiatives.
Merger recommended
Under the plan, the Brownlee Woods and Struthers branches would close as they would be merged into a newly built branch, possibly along Youngstown-Poland Road.
Patronage at the low-activity Greenford branch would be monitored under the plan, which says it might be closed after the proposed new and larger Canfield branch opens.
Other parts of the plan call for replacing the East, South and West Side branches in Youngstown with new buildings, relocating the New Middletown branch to a larger location, expanding the Lake Milton branch and renovating the main, Sebring and Campbell branches.
The library board will hold three public meetings to garner public input on the strategic plan:
U5:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at Austintown Library, 600 S. Raccoon Road.
U4 p.m. Feb. 18 at Boardman Library, 7680 Glenwood Ave.
U6 p.m. Feb. 19 at main library, 305 Wick Ave.
To seek architect
On Thursday, the board voted to seek an architect for the new East Side branch and to enter into an option to buy for $225,000 a storefront at 10418 Main St. in New Middletown for the new library to replace the branch now housed in the village municipal building.
Earlier in the meeting, Michele DeRhodes of Springfield Township presented the board with petitions bearing 181 signatures and calling for retention of a New Middletown branch.
The library system has about $5.9 million in its building and repair fund, which Sears acknowledged isn't enough to achieve all plan goals. Additional public and private funds would be needed, he said. The plan does not call for any staff reductions, he said.