Evanston residents on Monday night debated relocating the Evanston Public Library’s South Branch from its current location on Chicago Avenue westward to the Evanston Plaza Shopping Center.
The hearing, held at the Main Branch, 1703 Orrington Ave., discussed the relocation, which would move the South Branch, 949 Chicago Ave., to Dempster Street and Dodge Avenue.
Library Director Neal Ney estimated the cost of moving the library to be about $430,000.
The rent at the new location also would cost about $118,000 more annually than the current rent, he said.
The added costs should not affect the current city budget, which is facing a $3.7 million deficit.
The Evanston City Council has asked the library to make an $85,000 budget cut, but according to Ney, the library needs about $250,000 more than the current budget allocates to maintain all its branches.
“The city has had a budget crunch for the past eight years,” said Evanston resident Betty Payne, who supports the South Branch relocation. “I say we can find the money, we can afford it.”
The relocation, which would move the branch from the Third Ward to the Second Ward, concerns some residents, who worry about the lost convenience and educational advantages of having a library within walking distance.
“Evanston is getting to be the kind of city where you have to get in your car to fetch anything,” said Diane Willett, a library worker and South Branch patron. “I don’t want to have to drive to go to the library.”
In its current location, the library is within walking distance of two schools and serves an outreach function in the community, Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) said.
Wynne has asked City Manager Roger Crum for $30,000 to relieve problems at the current location, which is tight on space, has little parking and does not meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
The new location would have more space and better parking and would be handicapped-accessible, Ney said.
John Sagan, president of the Library Board of Trustees, pointed out that the proposed location “would be in a busy retail area,” which might attract new library patrons.
The proposed location also would provide service to residents of west Evanston who do not have a library nearby.
“Let’s be fair about the whole thing,” said Emma HarMonday, a Fifth Ward resident. “Don’t let everything be in North Evanston and South Evanston and nothing in the middle. We are just as important.”
But some residents questioned whether the new Dempster and Dodge location would be cost-effective.
“Quite frankly, it’s a leap of faith,” Ney said.
Another option would be to close both the South Branch and the North Branch, 2026 Central St. The possibility of closing one or both of the branch locations of the library met opposition from residents in 1996 and again in 2000.
According to a telephone survey of 302 Evanston residents conducted by library consultants Himmel & Wilson in June 1999, 1.6 percent of library patrons polled use the South Branch.
Library statistics show that the branch currently gets about 50,000 visits and has an average circulation of 41,500 books with a circulation cost of $4.40 per book. The North Branch averages about 84,500 visits and circulates about 84,000 books at a cost of $2.34 per book.
