Death of a Library

[primsong]

It's been a hard year for a lot of people and our church hasn't been exempt - one of the things going on at this point is we found out the old grade school people, who already caused us so much misery in the past that ended in our abrupt and traumatic closure of the school, have come back to haunt us. Turns out they never completed the permits for their two classroom modulars.

Now the county refuses to let us keep the modulars unless we pay a stunning $90,000 and "bring them up to code" and dig a drainage pond. This is a number so far into the stratosphere for our little congregation that it's simply impossible - especially as we've been scraping to just try replacing our aging furnace this year (it was used back when it was installed...in 1967...).  We're now looking for someone who will take the modulars off our hands for free if they will do the work to move them because we can't even afford to move them.

Because of this, our very active Food Cupboard that feeds so many people in this community that was filling those modulars has to move into the main building. And the only suitable room for it is... my library.

So I'm bracing myself to lose most of the library that I spent the past 15 years building and maintaining.

I expect we'll keep the preschool books by making a little 'preschool' library among the preschool classrooms, and I think I can keep the adult/reference stuff in a room that has built in bookshelves that aren't being used. The rest....well, I just have to keep repeating to myself that feeding people is more important than books that are, truthfully, only occasionally being read. It's important. I admit I'm still somewhat in shock, but I'm trying to roll with the punches.  Though yes, this really hurts.

No matter what, we have a heck of a job ahead this summer, as neither books nor refrigerators nor bookcases nor cases of applesauce are lightweight objects and we've a limited number of people with strong backs.  The county is only giving us until July.   :-(

Comments

[blackmare]

Is there a local news station that gets its kicks doing the "CALL EYEWITNESS 11" kind of thing? Every town I've lived in has had one, and I've seen local governments cave so fast under pressure from the public, applied via local TV news.

Seriously -- you've got a Story here with a big old capital S. It may be cynical of me, but think of it from the viewpoint of the news station and you'll see it. The Noble News Team gets to ride in and Help the Downtrodden!

Call 'em. Explain your plight, highlight the food bank, the carefully-built library, the terrible punishment the county is meting out against a church. If you have figures -- such as numbers of people you're serving, for starters -- use them. Punishing a community in need right now because all the forms didn't get done ... when? And by whom?

The worst that can happen is, you won't be any better off. The best, the county will suddenly realize that this was all a terrible misunderstanding. In between, someone else may come forward with offers to help in ways you'd never expected. People do that sometimes.

[primsong]

We thought about that concept, going to the news about it - but the guy we have working with the county said he was told in a 'wink wink' way that if we fought them on it, they'd be sure to hit us with all the not-up-to-code issues with our main building, which being an older building from the 60s would be many. If we let this one go, they'll grandfather in all the stuff with the main building and we'll be done with it. Yes, it's a bit like the mafia sometimes when working with government. >_< It isn't worth the risk, as the public interest would move on and leave us with an enemy in high places. I'm doing what I can to salvage what I can.... at least we haven't had them try to shut down our food cupboard. (yet).

[telegramsam]

Ouch.

Food is important, I agree. But I think libraries are important too. :C

[primsong]

It amazes me the number of people out there who don't care about books - I agree! But then, I've always been more along the lines of Erasmus' quote, about buying books first and then if there's any money left, buying food.

I'm working to salvage what I can - hopefully it will all work out for good somehow.