The Chatham-Effingham-Liberty Regional Library board approved a plan June 15 to gradually reopen its main library in Savannah, Georgia, starting in July. The central facility, which closed in 1997 for renovations, has been the center of a funding controversy since last year, when Library Director Lon Dickerson unsuccessfully proposed closing six branches to allow for adequate funding.
According to the June 16 Savannah Morning News, the plan calls for using $325,000 from the County Commission to open the library, beginning with the genealogy room in July. The entire library will open Sunday afternoons in September, then increase to 70 hours a week by December as 20 additional staff members are added.
Dickerson was disappointed by the funding level, telling reporters that the “schedule is very disappointing to me and the board.” He said, “It does, however, enable us to fully open the Bull Street library by the end of the year. In that respect, it’s a victory for the citizens of Chatham County.”
Posted June 21, 1999.