The Carrboro Board of Aldermen is asking County Commissioners to reconsider a plan to shut down the Carrboro Branch Library.

Alderwoman Randee Haven-O’Donnell said the money the county would save is not enough to justify closing the library.
 
The Board met in a special session on Monday to respond to the County’s plan, which would close the branch at McDougal Middle School and the Cedar Grove Branch by the end of the summer and divert staff to the new Main Library in Hillsborough.

At the meeting, Aldermen drafted a letter to commissioners highlighting reasons the branch should remain open. They say that traveling to Hillsborough would be a hardship for citizens at a time when demand for library services is on the rise, and would place the heaviest burden on those without the resources to make the trip.

Most importantly, Board members believe a community that prides itself on education and literacy deserves a free-standing library, and they fear that closing the branch will further delay that dream. Randee Haven-O’Donnell pointed to a line in the County’s Capital Investment Plan that would provide 3-million dollars for new library facilities, but she noted that project remains unfunded.

Despite the last-minute nature of the meeting, about twenty Carrboro residents turned out to hear the discussion.

Haven-O’Donnell says that public support for the library is strong.

In addition to the letter, the Aldermen plan to lobby the commissioners face to face. The County Commissioners will hold public hearings on the budget May 21st and 26th in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill.