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On Nov. 29, officials from the New Orleans Public Library presented to City Council a budget of more than $35 million dollars for 2024. This money will be spent on hiring additional staff, maintaining the library, and increasing wages, among others.
Central City Library is closed since August because of HVAC problems that caused mold.
Lesli Harris, a councilwoman, asked what was being done to open the library in the Allie Mae Williams Multi-Service Center, where it is dark, silent, and closed.
Joyce Jackson who lives nearby says that it is sad to see the library go downhill and the amenities of the library not being used by the local community.
I think that it is wrong. Jackson stated, “I think that it is wrong to lock up the library.”
Central City is the only branch without an estimated date of reopening.
Emily Painton said, “Everything has been up and running except Central City and we’re frustrated by the time it took,” at Monday night’s New Orleans Public Library budget meeting. The HVAC system is still causing mold to grow in our facility.
Painton says that one issue with Central City is the Allie Mae Williams Building is owned by Central City. Officials were uncertain about who would pay for the repairs after mold issues and problems with HVAC systems.
Officials from the library said that they are currently working to award contracts for making necessary repairs.
New Orleans Public Library has a commitment to upgrade and maintain our libraries throughout the city. Our HVAC systems in impacted areas are a priority. After mold was reported in August, we are working closely with Property Management in order to open Central City Library located at the Allie Mae Williams Multi-Service Center. Two Capital Projects are focusing on repair work at Rosa F. Keller, Robert E. Smith and Algiers Libraries. We will share the timelines with the public once Capital Projects has shared them. The Library Board voted at our most recent board meeting to transfer $9.5 Million in Library Reserves into the budget for 2024. The City Council must approve this budget, which forms part of the City’s overall budget. The $9.5 million will be used to replace the HVAC and elevators in the Main Library. Our goal is to remain open and accessible at all times.
The neighborhood has taped signs up and chalked messages in concrete that read “our community is in need of our public library” and “open soon.”
Jackson stated, “You could fix that right away so you can open it back up to these kids or anyone else who needs to use computers at the library.”
Shannon Cvitanovic is the executive director of Friends of New Orleans Public Library. She says that she has been talking with councilmembers to improve the flow of bidding and procuring so public buildings like Central City Library don’t have to wait as long before repairs are made.
Cvitanovic stated, “I don’t think it is right that this branch of the library gets shoved aside and doesn’t get priority as it should,” he said. I think it speaks of a larger pattern that is happening in the city, that buildings are not built to last a lifetime.
Cvitanovic also said that she wants more proactive maintenance in libraries, so that they can be used as cooling centres without worrying about their air conditioning units failing.
Painton informed the council of the shrinking workforce in the library system and said that an increase to the budget for 2024 would bring new people in and provide raises.
The Councilwoman Harris wants to speak to NORD and library officials about the possibility of using the Keller Center, which is vacant, as temporary office space for Central City Library Branch.
Harris stated that “this seems like a need which could be met in a temporary library space while you’re waiting for remediation that will take forever.”
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