Gary, Indiana Losing Its Main Library In Fiscal Shortfall

Gary, Indiana is a model of Rust Belt urban decay. Its struggles with endemic poverty, political corruption, population collapse and lost industry have brought the once-great city to its knees. The city government is on the brink of bankruptcy as the tax base has evaporated, and the downtown bears a striking resemblance to a ghost town, despite a population of around 100,000.

The plight of Gary is about to get worse still, as the city's Library Board voted 4-3 to close its main branch on Monday.

It will also close the Tolleston branch, leaving four remaining branch locations to serve the city. The shutdowns will save the system around $2.7 million, cutting its budget roughly in half, according to the Northwest Indiana Post-Tribune.

Board President Tony Walker told CBS Chicago that a total of around 30 library workers stand to lose their jobs, and while no one was happy about the decision, he insisted that there were no good options.

The only other possibility, the Chicago Sun-Times reports, was keeping the main library open and closing all other branch locations.

The spacious main library was opened in 1964, according to its website. Built of Indiana limestone, the library offered guests an auditorium, conference rooms, and two full floors for shelving, a vast improvement over the previous Carnegie Library building.

Now, as library board member Sadie Sheffield told the Post-Tribune, that handsome building will become "another eyesore to grow grass around."

Comments

[MaineSenior]

11:42 AM on 04/04/2011

As the saying goes, "Libraries will get you through a time of no money better than money will get you through a time of no libraries." We need them for browsing, for borrowing books you want to read, but that aren't worth the price of buying (murder mysteries, for instance), and for reference--and to have access to HP when your computer is down or you can't afford Internet access!

[Roy Lee Cast Jr]

02:05 PM on 04/02/2011

Sure there no are no readers in Gary! That's why we have people with PHD's because they only visit the internet! Get real! Libraries are closing all over the country! We do attend college and raise families to be responsible citizens just like everyone else! Don't believe the hype! Who died and made you knuckleheads the boss of me? What a world we live in!!

[Roy Lee Cast Jr]

01:49 PM on 04/02/2011

Well, here we are just like the election of 2010 promised! If you think Gary from the rust belt is bad, take a look at what the variable rate mortgages has done to the rest of the nation! Brand new neighborhoods are falling into default at alarming rates! So when you are lamenting about what has happened to one city think about what you did in the last election to put these maniacs in office! It will only get worse if the rich keep getting all of the breaks!

[osofar]

05:34 AM on 04/02/2011

All cities that are in a fiscal crisis are due to one fact: The people with the money moved to the suburbs, and left the poorest people behind. Poor people do not pay taxes like middle class people: hence, not enough money. In more civilized nations, like in Europe and Asia, cities are supported by the nation. Not so in the USA.

[Thomas Nagano]

02:20 PM on 04/01/2011

The City of Los Angeles recently passed a City Charter Amendment:

The Charter provides that the Library Department annually receive from the General Fund an amount not less than .0175% of the assessed value of all property in the City.

This guarantees a minimum level of funding for Library services.

It was sponsored by former Los Angeles Police Chief and current City Councilman Bernard Parks.
Ultimately, it will be 0.0300% of Los Angeles City property taxes. [see Measure L City of Los Angeles Libraries] - TK

[Thomas Nagano]

02:49 PM on 04/01/2011

The charter amendment passed overwhelmingly, with 63 percent of the vote. The 72-branch library system is one of the largest in the county. Not bad for the official "La La Land" according to the "new" Oxford English Dictionary. - TK

[Thomas Nagano]

02:07 PM on 04/01/2011

“Regressive Nihilism” win a battle, but not the "War." - TK

[whitepeacock]

02:01 PM on 04/01/2011

There's always money for war though.

[gregcurts]

01:39 PM on 04/01/2011

Drove through Gary a few weeks ago, Depressing and Dirty was and is all I can say about Gary.

[Chi--townfool]

11:17 AM on 04/01/2011

Libraries are obsolete anyway, only homeless people and people without computers use them

[appleheart]

11:34 AM on 04/01/2011

As much as I dislike that statement, working in a library I can tell you it's very much the truth. The only time I've seen people read here are when they are waiting for computer use.

[Chi--townfool]

12:16 PM on 04/01/2011

I download books for free, we only need the main branch and school libraries we don't need all the redundancy

[littlebrowngirl]

12:22 AM on 04/01/2011

Very sad. I used to go to this library as a kid. Downtown is such a ghosttown and this library was one of the last decent public buildings on the area.

[crookedcountyillinois]

12:00 AM on 04/01/2011

I've been to Gary. And it's not a place filled with what I would call "avid readers."

If a library is important to you, you probably don't live in Gary...

[joebiteme]

09:27 PM on 03/31/2011

I'm sure the union state employees could care less

[47th]

10:42 PM on 03/31/2011

The best economic times this country, and Gary by extent, ever had, were when Unions thrived.

[joebiteme]

10:44 PM on 03/31/2011

the best times we ever had was when Reagan canned the ATC's and then the economy boooomed

[mikey09]

10:45 AM on 04/01/2011

Gary has been in decline since the 60's...by the 70's it was ranked as one of the most violent places in the country.....

[DavidMG]

07:42 PM on 03/31/2011

Get used to it. This is what the Republicans want - no government..

[joebiteme]

09:27 PM on 03/31/2011

no this is what happens when unions control politics

[corwin]

09:40 PM on 03/31/2011

I'm not sure it's that easy as you present JB.But David MG is less rational.Why would a poor citizenry fight to pay public employees more than said employees cold earn elsewhere.
And,Gary isn't a typical rust belt town. it's a typical rustbelt Democratic town.I'm sure even some of the ,um "Non Smart People" here at HP can find a common thread between Gery,Detroit,Flint, Cleveland,et al
MG< i'd like to diffidently suggest to you,it's overpriced underperforming gov't the Repubs oppose .I certainly don't have the data or the math skills to know the end point.I'm most sorry for the kids in these towns .

[chrispychilla28]

01:37 AM on 04/01/2011

Unions are against public education? Thats a new one!

[KCFreedom]

11:40 PM on 03/31/2011

I don't think that really applies here. As bad as things are nationally, it's apparent that Gary crapped in its own bed here.

[DavidMG]

01:40 PM on 04/01/2011

wHETHER IT APPLIES HERE EXACTLY IS REALLY NOT THE POINT. THE CONSERVATIVES WANT TO SHRINK THE GOVERNMENT. ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS THEIR TAXES.

[BluebirdofUnhappiness]

07:40 PM on 03/31/2011

Books? We don't need no stinkin' books!!!
After all we have Twitter, now. And talking heads on the teevee.
(Sarcasm, if there's a question)