Florence rallies for library

They weren't going to take it sitting down.

A group of about 100 protesters -- kids on bikes, moms rolling strollers, adults waving signs -- rallied at the Florence public library today to object to its closing for the duration of 2009.

"We're not going down without a fight," said Deanna Reilly, the librarian at St. Philip Neri Catholic School, which relies on the public branch to supplement its resources.

Reilly and others were extra upset, they said, as the cost-cutting library decision socked their community with a double whammy.

Last month, the U.S. Postal Service announced the possible closing of the Florence post office. Both the post office and the library were reportedly targeted for similar reasons: the need to shave expenses and not enough customer visits.

Tammy Kimble, a rally organizer, said government officials should be trying to preserve and promote the historic nature of Florence, founded as a pioneer town in 1854 and annexed by Omaha in 1917.

"Instead they're going to take both from a founding community?" she asked. "This is where the Mormons came to settle. It needs to be saved."

Area residents have been abuzz since the Library Board's decision Monday night to cut hours and staff from most libraries -- but to entirely close the Florence branch through the end of the year.

City Councilman Pete Festersen also attended today's rally with his two young daughters. He said everyone realizes the financial strain the city is under, but that reductions should be felt citywide. It seems unfair, Festersen said, to close an east Omaha library while opening one in west Omaha.

On Tuesday, Trudy Hartline made her weekly stop at the library and had harsh words for Omaha officials. “It's like they're trying to de-annex us,” said Hartline, who has lived all her 62 years here. “If that's what they want to do, fine. Let us go. Let us be our own city.”

Both the post office and the library were reportedly targeted for similar reasons: the need to cut costs and not enough customer visits.

Postal officials haven't announced a final decision on shutting down the Florence post office, but they said it is one of six in Omaha that could close.

The Omaha Library Board this week opted to cut hours and positions at other branches and to close the Florence branch from Sept. 6 through the end of the year.

Library officials say Florence has the fewest patrons of any Omaha public library and emphasized that the closing is temporary. The branch also is scheduled to undergo a $768,000 renovation in 2010.

Florence is part of northeast Omaha, lying within an area bounded by the Missouri River, Redick Avenue, 45th Street and the Washington County line. It includes the Ponca Hills area.

The decision to close the library has upset residents of all ages.

Teresa Miller, 20, and her brother Jonas, 15, were checking out story and music CDs when they heard the news Tuesday.

“That's weird to close a library,” Jonas said. “I mean, you need books, right?”

It never occurred to Teresa that her childhood library had a shortage of customers. She said the Florence library probably has fewer visitors because it is smaller than most branches.

“I like the small things,” she said, adding that she's frustrated that she'll have to use more gas to drive to a different branch.

For Craig and Deborah Johnson, a stroll to their public library is a family affair they hate to see end.

As a reporter approached the couple, they already were asking, why Florence?

“Things are going downhill real fast,” said Craig. “A snowball effect.”

Both he and his wife have been laid off from jobs as, respectively, equipment operator and office clerk. Tuesday, the couple walked to the library — their 2-year-old and 6-year-old in tow — to search for employment via library computers. The little ones also signed on to a computer.

The older Johnson children use the library as well, often taking a break to go across the hall to play basketball or participate in some other activity at the Florence recreation center. A senior center also is in the complex that contains the library.

Paying for bus fare to go elsewhere is an expense the Johnsons said they didn't need.

Hartline on Tuesday was at the senior center arranging a volunteer visit. She is a frequent library customer and also stops weekly at the post office a few blocks away.

“It's very upsetting,” said Hartline. “We are just as deserving of community facilities as any other part of Omaha.”

News of the library closing was circulating among its youngest users, too.

“What? How long is the library gonna be closed?” 8-year-old Donovan Caillier asked his buddy Devante Robinson, 10.

They are among a herd of kids from Crayon Castle day care that walks to the library multiple times a week during the summer. They like the library's movie and popcorn day, reading contests, arts and crafts, and carnivals.

They were on the playground of the library-recreation area complex. Some youngsters took a break to play on an oversized checkerboard inside.

“It's just a very positive atmosphere,'' said Kayla Buchan, their teacher. “I think it's baloney they're taking this from the kids.”

Residents are not willing to let go easily.

Today at 10 a.m., community members planned to rally at the library to show support for keeping the branch open. The effort was organized through schools.

If that doesn't work, perhaps 7-year-old Samantha Kyle will set her fundraising strategy in motion.

“We can have a lemonade stand,” she squealed. “Fifty cents a cup.”

World-Herald researcher Jeanne Hauser contributed to this report.