Parkside Community Opposes Proposed Library Closings
Eric Ortner
North Buffalo Rocket / West Side TimesMarch 2000: There wasn't any whispering in the library on Tuesday, March 7, as a public hearing took place in the Fairfield Branch Library. North Buffalo residents took the opportunity to voice their opinions over the proposal to merge Fairfield Library and North Park Library into a hub resembling the Central Branch. It was standing room only at 1659 Amherst Street. Participants were on their feet mixed in with the stacks or wherever they could find some personal space. As has been the case at all the libraries that a consolidation merger was proposed, the people weren't happy.
Diane Chrisman, the Buffalo and Erie County Public Libraries' Executive Director and Michael Mahaney, Community Relations Director, led the meeting. They started out by giving a brief overview of the plan, and then fielded some questions. The questions were good ones, and on a few occasions the library leaders were stumped.
Among the questions, "What will happen to the vacated buildings?" was repeatedly asked. Another key inquiry regarded where the data that suggested it was a good idea to merge libraries came from. Mr. Mahaney answered that the information base for Aaron Cohen and Associates' proposal came from a scientific phone survey. The survey contacted 400 people throughout Erie County. Many people at the Fairfield hearing believed that this small number was an insufficient cross section of the 600,000 registered borrowers in the library system.
After the questions ended, Ms. Chrisman and Mr. Mahaney started listening to what people had to say about the creation of a HUB library in the area. Gene Barick started out and said, "There are two high schools in the area, Bennett and Holy Angels. You are asking parents to drive their children to a library that they were once able to walk to."
Joyce Baer continued this sentiment by saying, "I'm concerned about the children who do not have parents who are interested or do not have time to take their children to the library."
Other thoughts on the matter covered issues such as services paid for. The high taxes in the area should come with some benefits. A few people believed that a close convenient library was one of them. Moreover, people felt that the neighborhood was centered around the library. They believed before closing the Fairfield Branch, the library board should consider the legacy they are leaving behind in this and other neighborhoods.
Other concerns involved the history of the Fairfield Branch. It was built in 1897 and is the oldest structure in the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library system. People commented that a new library would not have the same nice wooden arched windows.
However, not everyone shared these same preservationist beliefs. Gregory Lodinsky said, "I am new to the neighborhood and can give one of the least biased views of closing the library… We deserve the same advantages as the suburbs. We need to fight suburban tax payers. In this cause I fight for Move, Not Improve." However, he was most certainly in the minority, and there was a great deal of public outcry in regards to his statements.
Although it was great to see the Park Side community out in full force there was one group of library users conspicuously missing from the hearing. The Fairfield Branch Library is not the only facility that will be affected by the merger. The North Park Branch will also be closed if the proposal comes to fruition. Unfortunately, aside from a few flip remarks from obvious Fairfield Branch users, there was next to no opinion either for or against the closing from the North Park Branch users. These users will most likely never get the opportunity to express their views, because the Buffalo and Erie County Public Libraries' Board of Directors has not scheduled a hearing at that library. This may be a symptom of a larger issue regarding the consolidation of these two branches. They simply are too far away from each other.
