I spoke with senior administrative analyst Jay Wollenhaupt of the Glendale Library to voice my concerns. He explained that the recommendation is based on budget cuts and a study showing that the Chevy Chase library is underutilized relative to the other branches.
How can the city justify plans to open a new library (with no proven attendance record) in Adams Square (and plan to have it open six days a week) yet shut down another branch entirely? This proposed action seems wholly unfair and draconian. As it is, we have little to no public services up in the canyon. The failed attempt to open a large branch near In-N-Out Burger makes it all the more crucial to keep our local branch alive.
For as long as I’ve lived in the canyon, the library has always offered limited operating hours (two days a week, then three short days a week). Combined with its small size, this makes it almost impossible to attract the kind of traffic other libraries enjoy. It seems unfair that the Chevy Chase branch attendance is being compared with larger libraries that are open five to seven days a week. When the library expanded its hours to include Mondays, my family visited more often.
No mom-and-pop shop located off the beaten path and open two to three half days a week could ever achieve a customer base like that of a Target on Brand Boulevard.
This doesn’t mean the shop shouldn’t exist or doesn’t serve its community. In many ways, these shops provide the greatest service. That is how many of us feel about the Chevy Chase library.
