Young and old gathered in front of the North Branch Library Monday to protest a proposed budget cut that would shut down the city’s branch libraries.
Organized by Evanston resident Jonathan Polish, the protest was attended overwhelmingly by children, outlining the sentiment that their interest in keeping the branches open equals that of adults, he said.
“This is actually a child-driven movement,” Polish said. “That’s why (this) is a child-wide protest, because it shows how important it is to them.”
Great Harvest Bread Company, 2126 Central St., provided cookies, and Linz & Vail, 2012 Central St., provided hot chocolate at the protest, which had more than 200 attendees. Young girls held signs stating, “I learned how to read here,” as the crowd chanted, “We want a library” in unison. The abundance of protesters stopped traffic, punctuating the demonstrators’ chorus with car horns.
“I am proud of (my kids), and I think it’s a really great learning experience for them to realize we live in a democracy,” said Allison Quackenbush, whose four children participated in the protest.
The possibility of eliminating both of Evanston’s branch libraries first appeared when City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz submitted his budget proposal in December. The council is set to vote on the issue by the end of February.
“It’s important that those in support of the library are making their opinions heard,” Bobkiewicz said. “But we’re facing difficult budget times, and there are a lot of difficult decisions on the (city) council’s plate.”
Ald. Jane Grover (7th) said she wants to see the libraries remain open, unless the city cannot find alternative funding methods.
“It’s really a matter of diversifying the funding,” said Grover, whose ward is home to the North Branch Library.
Mary Johns, director of the Evanston Public Library, said she and the council have talked about alternate methods of funding the library, including additional private funding, partnerships with other organizations and further prospects for volunteering.
Susan Dejanovic, owner of Linz & Vail, a gelato shop on the same block as the North Branch Library, 2026 Central St., said losing the libraries would also hurt nearby businesses.
“(The libraries) help get a community feel right in the neighborhood, and a lot of cities and towns don’t have that,” she said. “Sure we could all go downtown, but it takes us all out of our neighborhood, and the business owners and the businesses here would struggle.”Grover said more than 75,000 people went to the North Branch Library in 2009.
“It will be a hardship for those that lost the library,” Grover said. “That’s a lot of foot traffic on Central Street, and my primary concern is not the hardship for the patrons of the branch libraries, but the implications of closing for the local businesses.”
Bobkiewicz said although he has a lot of respect for the libraries, he maintains closing the branch libraries is necessary to reduce the city’s $9.5 million budget deficit.
“We should provide as many municipal services as we can,” he said. “I’m just trying to make sure we continue to provide services to people, but within the resources we have.”
But Polish, the demonstration’s organizer, who attended the rally with a megaphone in one hand and a trove of “Save our branch libraries” signs in the other, said he will continue to do everything he can to keep the branch libraries afloat.
“Frankly, our goal is to raise awareness,” Polish said. “The important thing was that I didn’t want this thing to happen in the dead of night without giving people the opportunity to be heard.” [email protected]
