Ironically, Gordon and another outspoken critic of the decision, Alderman Mike D’Amato, are also members of the Milwaukee Public Library Board, the body that decided to shutter the facility because it ranked near the bottom of usage statistics for the 12-branch system and would be the most expensive site to upgrade. The first closure in 40 years, the action would save the library system $500,000 in a fiscal year already fraught with staff shortages and anticipated budget cuts.
But D’Amato pointed out that the savings may be less than projected, since MPL’s contract with the Milwaukee County Federated Library System stipulates that the city pay the federation $1 for each book that a Milwaukee resident borrows from a suburban facility. Although MPL receives $1 for loans it makes to suburbanites, MPL ends up paying out more than it receives.
A trustee subcommittee is weighing the viability of consolidating Villard and several other northwest Milwaukee libraries into a yet-to-be-built regional library—a proposal that Alderman Don Richards vowed to ensure would be more than “a carrot they’re dangling in front of us.” The subcommittee is due to report its findings to the full library board in September. Concerned residents have started a petition drive, and are planning a community meeting for later in August, according to the August 6 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Posted August 11, 2003.