“China has libraries. Third-world countries have libraries. Prisons have libraries…Now we don’t have libraries.” Joe Henry of Medford, Oregon.
Welcome to day 1 of:
The Jackson County Tragedy: A community without a library.
As promised, on April 7th, the Jackson County Library system in Southern Oregon has shut down its entire library system.
The “15 branches will remain shuttered indefinitely because of a budget shortfall, the largest such shutdown in the nation’s history.”
What if you still have a book checked out? “The fines will continue to accrue at 20 cents per day per item…If someone gets too many fines, we will turn them over to a collection agency…But we don’t want to fine anybody. We just want our materials back.” said Library director Ted Stark.
“I never thought I’d have to do this,”Stark said. “I’ve been through my share of economic downturns and budget problems. But we’ve never closed the libraries before.”
Article in Southern Oregon’s Mail Tribune “Libraries Close”
Previous Book Patrol post “Southern Oregon County To Shut Down Entire Library System”
Jackson County Library website
Jackson County Library Blog
Open Letter from author Gary Paulsen