PURPOSE OF PUBLIC LIBRARY HAS BECOME MUDDLED

What is the purpose of a library? Is it to gain knowledge? Is it to find a
quiet place to study? Is it to sleep? Is it to exchange toiletries? Is it
to solicit innocent patrons to sell drugs? Unfortunately, the purpose of
Lincoln Library is so muddled that its purpose is no longer to the benefit
of Springfield citizens.

Over the last 10 years, I have regularly visited the library to find
books, study, help my children research for projects, and listen to
educational speakers. Yet, I have noticed a remarkable decline. No longer
is it a safe place to spend time with my children.

The other day, my children and I went to the main library branch to find a
quiet place to study. This was obviously a bad decision. I asked a library
employee where the quiet places were located. She pointed to a study area
with numerous tables and to tables scattered around the library. The
tables scattered around the library were filled with sleeping people or
people talking. Rarely did I find a book at one of these tables.

We headed for the large area. However, this was anything but a study area.
A large group of people sat at the tables exchanging toothpaste and
deodorant without a book in sight. They talked loudly about the best
places for a free meal. Even after the security guard came and went with a
warning to be quiet, nothing changed.

One man from the group stumbled toward our table. I told him to leave us
alone because we were busy studying. This man did not listen. Instead, he
insulted me using obscenities. He approached my teenage son sitting next
to me, pulled out a wad of cash and a plastic bag. He told my son he could
earn this much cash in a day if he sold drugs for this man.

Outraged, my family packed up. Police were called and handled the manner
outside of the library. I was told by library officials that there wasn’t
much they could do. In fact, I was asked by a library official to call the
police on my cell phone and not the library phone. This seemed to be a
normal occurrence to them.

Should the taxpaying citizens of Springfield allow the library to be used
as a place of loud meetings, a bedroom or a drug den? Why do people feel
bold enough to elicit innocent library goers to sell drugs? What happened
to the librarian of the past who warned library patrons to be quiet and
study? Obviously, the Springfield library has lost its true purpose to be
filled by a more menacing one.

The Springfield citizens should not let the library be taken over by
criminals and vagrants. Stricter procedures must be put in place.

Stacey Chavours

Springfield