By Ben Joravsky
“We’re not alone. The library bosses say they have too many branches,” says Peter Donoghue, president of the Lake View Citizens’ Council (LVCC). “I’d like to know how in the world can you have too many libraries? That’s like saying, ‘Oh, no, people are reading too many books.’”
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“We never pretended that this was a research facility,” says Teresa Gallo, chair of the LVCC’s library committee. “It’s the kind of place where you can go to read the daily paper or a popular magazine or the latest best-sellers. It’s a place you walk to, a neighborhood place.”
The library survived these changes mainly because its rent was unbelievably low for the location; that changed last year, when local developer Bill Moran bought the property.
In 1995 the staff issued a five-year plan; on a list of the system’s weaknesses (next to “cynical staff with ingrained beliefs” and “inflexible work rules”) was “too many libraries.”
For the moment, Dempsey has not determined which small branches will be closed or where the new facilities will be built. In this case, she says the central office would probably close North Lake View and Hamlin Park (a storefront branch on Belmont near Kedzie) while opening a bigger branch near the Lincoln-Belmont-Ashland intersection.
Nonetheless, Lakeview residents vow to press ahead with their efforts to keep North Lake View open, or at least to move it somewhere close by. They’ve met with Dempsey and have won the backing of 44th Ward alderman Bernie Hansen, who’s brought the matter to Mayor Daley’s attention.
