American Library Association President Carol Brey-Casiano, along with representatives from the Texas Library Association and the Texas State Library, suggested fund-raising strategies during an April 5 meeting with Bedford city officials and library supporters, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported April 7. Brey-Casiano pointed to Salinas, California, where residents raised $500,000 in about five weeks to keep the library open on a limited basis.
“I think we’ve got to do it,” said David Franklin, treasurer of the Friends of the Bedford Public Library. “I think anything’s possible if we put our minds to it. I don’t see why we can’t.”
On April 6 the Star-Telegram reported that Bedford Deputy Library Director Marleen Watling had been placed on paid administrative leave while the city conducts an investigation. Officials would not explain the reason for the move, and Watling, who was not among the employees laid off by the city, would only say it was unrelated to the library’s closing.
Hundreds of librarians gathered at the state capitol in Austin April 6 to demand adequate funding for libraries. The North Texas Daily, the campus newspaper of the University of North Texas in Denton, said most of the crowd was dressed in red as part of a “Get Texas Libraries Out of the Red” campaign. The rally, organized by the Texas Library Association, occurred during the group’s annual conference.
Posted April 8, 2005.