When Mayor Anna Caballero showed up at the vigil and reiterated that the city could not afford to keep the libraries open because of state raids on local revenue, some in the crowd shouted they did not believe her. Emphasizing that residents needed to contribute money to save the libraries, she said, “You got a buck, let’s put it right here,” pointing to a spot in front of the statue, the Monterey County Herald reported January 18. “If we are going to keep the libraries open, there must be solidarity in the community,” she added. “This is the kind of discord that will tear us apart. Let’s not split into factions.”
Library staffers collected some money tossed by the crowd, saying they would use it to help prevent the libraries from closing. Senior Library Technician Sylvia Garcia told the Californian, “It really disappoints me to see our council give up so early on a solution to keep at least one library open.”
Sanchez said he believes the city should reverse itself and “give some money back” to the libraries while planning for another tax measure to support them. “I’m scared that if we move forward with what we’re doing now, I’m not so sure people will want to reopen them,” he said in the Herald, “They accept this as their destiny. But it’s only over when we decide it’s over and I’m not ready to give up on our children.”
At its Midwinter Meeting in Boston January 14–17, the American Library Association’s Council passed a resolution opposing the Salinas closures.
Posted January 21, 2005.