Residents fight for library

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Chevy Chase Canyon residents are banding together in a last-minute effort to keep their local branch library from falling victim to proposed spending cuts that are expected to be adopted tonight.

The City Council — having spent more than a month with city officials to implement a 5% across-the-board cut in spending for all departments — will likely adopt the proposed $775.3-million budget for fiscal year 2008-09. As part of the cutbacks, libraries in Glendale would have reduced hours and staffing, but the Chevy Chase Branch Library would be closed completely for a net savings of $26,000, city officials said.

Residents in the canyon have been gathering written and online signatures for a petition to “save our library” and sending e-mails to the council for the past several days.

The residents want the library, which is open for the equivalent of 2.5 days a week, to stay open for at least one day a week.

About 200 people, as of Monday, had signed the petitions to keep the branch open.

“To close the library seems really draconian,” said Pamela Tom, who helped start the grass-roots campaign.

About a half-dozen residents braved the sweltering heat Monday afternoon to demonstrate in front of the library, perched on a hillside at 3001 E. Chevy Chase Drive overlooking the golf course.

Whether it is used for community meetings, a portal to Internet learning for senior citizens, or an educational tool for children, demonstrators said the library was a valuable resource.

“It’s a place where you can actually be peaceful,” 9-year-old Nick Martin said as he waved his bright neon sign on Monday.

Graeme Whifler said he started taking his daughter to the library when she was 2.

It’s been six years, “and now she’s just a voracious reader, and that’s all because of this library,” he said.

But library officials contend there are not enough people like the Whiflers to justify continued operations at the Chevy Chase branch.

About 1.1 million materials were checked out through the city’s library system in fiscal year 2006-07. Of that total, just 6,500 books, magazines and other materials were checked out at Chevy Chase, Director of Libraries Cindy Clearly said.

The second-least-used branch library is Grandview, with 33,000 materials checked out in the same period, she added.