Letter: Neither library system feels pressure to merge

MLive/Flint Journal opinion By MLive/Flint Journal opinion The Flint Journal
on June 15, 2011 at 3:06 PM

Voice: Thomas M Donnellan, Flint 

I do not agree with your criticism of the two library boards in the county. After 32 years of efforts to merge the two boards, unification is as far from being accomplished as ever. The Flint system is highly centralized around a main library. There are now fewer branches than there were, with more restricted hours. The Genesee system is highly decentralized and the headquarters building is scheduled to be closed.

My point is that neither system is under any pressure from their constituents to change. Boards that follow the wishes of those they serve should not be criticized for that.

When we set up the Genesee District Library in the late ’70s, there were those who recognized that the constant contraction of the tax base for the library would mean that eventually the main Flint library could not be sustained. We hoped that shifting the tax base for the main library to a countywide base might be the solution. However, the Flint Board of Education provided no help because the library was viewed as the jewel of the system and played a prominent role in school millage campaigns. Now, of course, the library and school system are separate and the operations of the Flint library continue on their long decline.

Governmental mergers based on the local units coming together rarely happen. However, the governor was elected on a platform of consolidation of governmental units. The libraries may be a possible place to start.
http://www.mlive.com/opinion/flint/index.ssf/2011/06/letter_neither_library_system.html
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