CITY OF SPRINGFIELD

In the City Council

WHEREAS, the City of Springfield is cognizant of its moral and legal duty to provide elementary and secondary level education to its residents; and

WHEREAS, the City of Springfield recognizes that the learning process is life long and year round; and

WHEREAS, the City of Springfield had long boasted of a fine branch library system providing library services to all neighborhoods and all of our residents; and

WHEREAS, the City of Springfield has generously contributed to and annually paid for the great majority of the costs in operating the libraries and within the past several years provided generous bond funds for the renovation and upgrade of many city libraries, in particular appropriated at the request of the Springfield Library and Museums Association ("SLMA") $575,000 to upgrade the Mason Square Branch; and

WHEREAS, the City of Springfield has had a 150 year relationship with the SLMA and its corporate predecessors in which they jointly undertook to meet the library and literary needs of this city and its residents establishing a system of a main branch and 9 branch libraries; and

WHEREAS, the library system survived floods, wars, depressions and significant changes within the city and society without contraction or retreat; and

WHEREAS, the Mason Square neighborhood is an older section of town, economically disadvantaged and contains a majority of African-American and/or Hispanic residents; and

WHEREAS, the Mason Square branch has been the beneficiary of a gift left by Annie Curran to establish and assist in the running of that branch and as such has certain independent financial capacity; and

WHEREAS, this City Council, in response to the SLMA's unwarranted and surprise closing of three branch libraries, unanimously supported the creation of a citizen based study committee of the library system and the possibility of the city taking over the operations of the library system; and

WHEREAS, the City Council's Order specifically requested that the SLMA halt any further dismantling of the neighborhood library system; and

WHEREAS, the SLMA has recently announced its intention to discontinue library services to the Mason Square Community and to sell the Mason Square library, its land and the buildings, to the Urban League, and

WHEREAS, the SLMA's proposal would strip one of the more disadvantaged communities in the City of its library; and

WHEREAS, the SLMA under its proposal would reap all of the proceeds from the sale even though the City of Springfield recently spent $575,000 to upgrade and improve that building, and

WHEREAS, the SLMA has not sought the input of the Mason Square community, nor any input from the City Council in connection with its decision to shut down and sell the Mason Square Library,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Springfield City Council states:

1.) That it opposes the SLMA's proposal to shut down and sell the Mason Square Library;

(the following two clauses were stripped out of the Resolve by votes of Councilors Foley, Sarno, Tosado, Williams and Rooke.)

2.) That the SLMA's proposed action constitutes a breach of the SLMA's promise to provide effective city wide library services to all our citizens, particularly the disadvantaged; and

3.) The SLMA's actions constitute an improper attempt by the SLMA to unjustly enrich and benefit itself in selling property which the City has generously contributed to at a price and in a manner that is designed to ensure that the City is never reimbursed.