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Budget Woes Close Small New Mexico LibraryThe David Cargo Public Library in Mora, New Mexico, closed its doors in mid-August and laid off Director Crystal Clark-Fort, even as plans were underway for a new building to go up next summer. Mora County commissioners voted in late July to close the library because budget shortfalls prevented them from paying the director’s salary, according to the August 20 Santa Fe New Mexican.The 14-year-old library, which holds more than 30,000 books and two public Internet computers, is named after a former state governor who acquired the books to launch it and has sometimes paid the director’s salary himself. Cargo plans to meet with county officials in late August to resolve the situation. The state legislature provided the county with funds for a new building after mold and structural problems forced the library out of a former firehouse. Since late 2003, the library has shared space with county offices in a century-old house. Library Board Chair Editha Bartley told the New Mexican that the community, located in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo range, is losing a valuable asset. “A lot of people in Mora County are poor, and they come in to read newspapers and magazines,” she said. “This was their connection to the outside world, and it has just been cut off.” Posted August 20, 2004. |
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