Illinois State Senator Jeff Schoenberg and Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl held a press conference Monday at Evanston’s North Branch Library to announce a plan that might allow Evanston’s South Branch Library to stay open, they said.
Earlier in the year, the Evanston City Council made the decision to terminate the lease for the South Branch library in August—the city owns the building housing the North Branch Library.
The plan involves merging two governmental offices currently located in Evanston—the city’s South Branch Library and the state’s Evanston workNet Center, currently located on Oak Street.
The state’s lease for the workNet Center runs out in early December.
Schoemberg said it is a unique opportunity to advance both facilities and save money. He said that in the current economic climate, libraries have become more than simply a place to check out books and hold community meetings. Many patrons now utilize the library as one of their main resources when searching for jobs and starting a new business.
“The role of libraries has really changed in our communities,” Schoenberg said. “Without policy directive, libraries have evolved naturally.”
The new proposal will merge the two offices into one building where they can share rent and other key utilities such as free public high speed wireless internet. However, according to Tisdahl the main cost of operating the branch libraries is staffing.
Currently the Illinois Department of Employment Security leases the workNet facility for $17,605 per month and Evanston leases the South Branch Library facility for about $4,800 per month.
Joining the two offices, Schoenberg said, could save both programs money and create a “template” for joint projects like this for other communities throughout Illinois.
Schoenberg and Tisdahl did not mention any specific facilities or prices associated with the new proposed inter-governmental venture.
“I can say we are not looking to construct anything new,” Tisdahl said.
In an effort to preempt questions from press and Evanston residents, Schoenberg explained that while the state and city may both be facing tight budgets, much of the budget for the Illinois Department of Employment Security comes from federal funds so she is not worried about the state backing out of the venture.
The proposal has not been discussed or passed by the City Council, though both Tisdahl and Schoenberg said they want to make the idea reality soon.
“The first dates have gone quite well,” Schoemberg said. “We look at it now as a happy marriage.”
One of the members of the audience expressed concern about the message of the conference.
Mary Dougherty, a resident of the 9th ward who frequents the South Branch library, said it was difficult to get information about how this could affect the library.
“I was curious as to why it was focused on the state and city and there wasn’t much reference to the library board or the libraries,” she said.
Dougherty is a supporter of Evanston’s Fund for Excellence, an organization that raises money for library materials, and Evanston Public Library Friends. Like Schoenberg, she said she has lived in Evanston for 40 years and often visits the library with her family.
“I would like to see both of the branch libraries saved,” she said. “Anything is worth trying.”