Statement
before Glenn A. Walsh
Historic
Hazelwood
Electronic
Mail: < gawalsh@andrewcarnegie.cc >
Internet
Web Site: < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
2003
September 30
Good morning. I am Glenn A.
Walsh of
In a news article, published
in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on
September 22, Carnegie Library Director Herb Elish is reported to have said
that the consensus from Hazelwood community meetings is that moving the
Hazelwood Library out of the historical Hazelwood Branch Library building is
the right thing to do. This is just plain wrong.
Carnegie Library scheduled
only one general meeting for the entire community, regarding this issue, on
September 9. A large majority of the 75 people in attendance, at this meeting,
were unalterably opposed to moving the library out of the historical building,
creating yet another abandoned building in the neighborhood. Any other
meetings, Mr. Elish may be referring to, were with special interest groups that
do not represent the interests of the entire community.
In the news article, Mr. Elish
is also quoted as saying that it could cost $2-$2.5 million to rehabilitate the
original building. This is the same amount now being expended on the
rehabilitation of a much larger branch library in
It seems that, to
rehabilitate a historic library building, Carnegie Library insists on a “Taj
Mahal” type renovation. The residents of Hazelwood are not asking for a “Taj
Mahal” renovation. They would like to see the original building made
handicapped-accessible, which can be done with a ramp into the Library; a ramp
already exists for the auditorium. A very expensive elevator is not needed.
The residents would also like
to see the building, eventually, air-conditioned. However, there has been years of deferred
maintenance, disinvestment, and neglect of the Hazelwood Branch, by Carnegie
Library. Hence, it is no surprise that Mr. Elish says that the building now “doesn't
serve the people well.”
Mr. Elish also said, “We
believe that for libraries to truly serve the people, they need to be at the
center of things, which in Hazelwood means
And, the site preferred by
Carnegie Library is only three blocks from the original building! The original
building IS in the center of
Hazelwood, not far from the J&L development site. Improved street signage
and publicity, regarding library services and programs, are all that is needed
to increase usage of the original Library building.
The comment was also made, in
the news article, that the historic building is expensive to heat. At the
September 9 neighborhood meeting, residents were told that the costs of
operating the
The historic Hazelwood Branch
Library building is owned by the City of
Thank you.
gaw