Savannah Residents Win
Branch Closing Fight
The Chatham-Effingham-Liberty Regional Library board in Savannah, Georgia, has yielded to community pressure and postponed plans to close the neighborhood Thunderbolt branch that dates back to the 1930s.
Upset over the board’s May announcement of a $62-million plan to close several smaller branches and replace them with a centralized facility, about 50 residents, armed with petitions and wearing handmade protest buttons, formed a standing-room-only crowd in the town council chambers July 18 for a special public hearing on the proposed closing.
According to the July 19 Savannah Morning News, Thunderbolt Mayor Jimmy Petrea raised concerns about the safety of children walking to a different location and the elderly who may be unable to drive elsewhere to check out books.
“We have no intention of going forward with a plan not accepted by our customers,” library director Bill Johnson told the crowd. “I’m not going to fight a room full of people. I am persuaded.”
Johnson urged residents to also make their wishes known to the Chatham County Commission, which has proposed budget cuts and hiring freezes affecting library operations.
Posted July 23, 2001.
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