Hawaii Board Delays Plan to Close Five Branches

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By Sean Fitzpatrick

Deferring a vote on Hawaii State Librarian Richard Burns’s proposal to shut five public libraries, the Hawaii Board of Education has directed him to submit a new plan to address a $5.7-million cut in funding that did not include library closures.

At its July 16 meeting the board approved the rest of the proposal presented by Burns July 9, including $1.3 million in furloughs and other salary savings, as well as the elimination of 67 vacant positions to save $2.2 million. However, it passed motions protecting the five branches that had been targeted for closure, the Honolulu Advertiser reported July 17.

Board member Karen Knudsen said that Burns “just didn’t have time to look at all the alternatives,” noting that he and his staff only had two weeks to develop the proposal, and that “this will give him more time to look at the whole picture.”

Local objections to the announced closures were particularly strong in the isolated community of Hana, which is separated from the rest of the island of Maui by a narrow 52-mile road and 58 bridges; the trip to the nearest town takes around two hours. Some 335 residents attended a meeting at the branch about the proposed closure July 14; “I mean, 335 people out of a community of 2,000, that’s a lot of support,” said Branch Manager Holly Braffet in the July 15 Maui News.

“The Hana community spoke loud and clear: ‘Do not close our library. This is our lifeline,’” said Maui Board of Education member Mary Cochran. She noted that some branches on Oahu are within 5–6 minutes driving distance of each other. “They never considered closing those libraries in Honolulu,” she said.

American Libraries, Tue, 07/21/2009 - 00:00