TERRE HAUTE — The Meadows, Southland and North branches of the Vigo County Public Library will close under a budget reduction plan approved by the library board on Monday.
The West Terre Haute branch, already owned by the library, will remain open, but its library collection will be modified and Internet access will be strengthened.
Closing three branches will mean fewer layoffs systemwide, while hours and services will be preserved at the main library.
The board voted 6-1, with board president Pat Minnis voting against the budget reduction plan. She said she wanted to try to keep two branches open.
Library director Nancy Dowell recommended the option approved by the board, previously listed as “Option 4.”
“This recommendation comes with a heavy heart,” Dowell wrote. “The branches have served a vital role in providing quality library services to the Vigo County community. However, the bottom line is the VCPL can no longer afford to maintain the facilities. Property tax revenue will not support five locations in a county that is declining in population and where property values and economic development continue to decline.”
The budget reduction plan will result in about $900,000 in savings. It calls for as many as 14 staff layoffs — eight hourly and six salaried. The actual number may be less, Dowell said.
She said it’s difficult to lay off employees, whom she described as “loyal and trustworthy and horribly underpaid to begin with.”
The Meadows branch, which is under a temporary lease, could close at the end of this month, Dowell said after the meeting. The North and South branches could close in four to six weeks.
A major concern of the board’s was preserving the main, downtown library and laying off as few employees as possible.
“We can’t do anything to jeopardize this [main library] even though in our hearts we want to do something else,” said board member James A. Brown.
Board member Rose Dixon also said she did not want to diminish the main library. “I can’t see the point of having it eroded to keep the branches open,” she said.
The focus of the West Terre Haute branch would change, and it would become a “popular materials and Internet access location.” More computers with Internet access would be added, something the West Terre Haute community needs, Dowell said.
In another change, the West Terre Haute branch probably will only be open five days a week instead of six, she said.
The goal would be to eventually find or build a new West Terre Haute facility, which currently has many needs and is not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Fundraising would be needed to construct a new facility.
After the meeting, Dowell said that materials from Meadows, North and South branches would be donated to community organizations and absorbed at the main library.
Some of the computers at the branches likely will go to the main library.
After the meeting, board member Andrea Myers said it was difficult to make the cuts. “It’s never easy when you’re dealing with someone’s livelihood,” she said. “I think the thing all of us were focused on was maintaining the highest level of service we could, given the restraints and constraints we had to work with.”
The main library “is a wonderful facility,” Myers said. “I think it’s so important to maintain the integrity and the services of this building.”
The budget reduction option chosen will mean fewer layoffs than some of the other possible options, she said.
Dowell said the library will work to accommodate the needs of branch patrons who are disabled or elderly and cannot visit the main library. The library will look at how it can provide outreach services for those individuals.
The library had to make the permanent cuts to bring its budget in line with less property tax revenue. About 90 percent of its revenues come from property taxes.
The budget shortfall has been described as an unintended consequence of House Bill 1001, which changed the state’s property tax system.
In 2008, the four branches cost $1.1 million to operate, a figure that includes rent, utilities, staff salaries and library materials.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Vigo Library to close 3 branches
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.
-
Giant welcome home for Steve
Terre Haute was suddenly home to thousands of cheering New York Giants fans Friday as residents welcomed Super Bowl champion Steve Weatherford back home for a parade.
-
‘One for Terre Haute,’ Steve tells crowd at North
“This one was for Terre Haute,” native son Steve Weatherford proclaimed Friday as he shared his Super Bowl victory with the community that helped send him on the path to a world championship.
-
Hometown support vital to success, Weatherford says
Steve Weatherford said Friday he wouldn’t be celebrating a Giants’ Super Bowl victory if not for the support he’s received from his hometown, his parents and mentors in his life.
-
Craning for a rare glimpse
A visitor from the Far East has naturalists flying to Linton, hoping some good comes from one bird’s bad directions.
-
Vigo’s primary election filings complete
The slate is set for the May 8 primary election, with the race for three at-large seats on the Vigo County Council drawing the largest pool of candidates at the county level.
-
Documentary on electric vehicles plays Sunday at Rose
The rising popularity of electric vehicles and their impact on the world eco-system is the focus of a documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” being presented at 3 p.m. Sunday in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Hatfield Hall Theater.
-
Man gets 10-year sentence in battery case
A West Terre Haute man received a 10-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to aggravated battery for beating a friend caught in bed with the man’s wife.
-
Asian hooded crane lands in Greene County wildlife area
Bird watchers are flocking to a southwestern Indiana wildlife area to try to catch a glimpse of a crane usually spotted only in Asia.
-
Slow drips: It’s maple syrup season in Indiana
More seasonal, colder temperatures will hit the Wabash Valley this weekend, which is ideal weather for maple syrup production, said Keith Ruble, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
However, Ruble voices concern that this year’s maple syrup season may be short.
-
Downtown restaurant celebrates expansion
The streets of Terre Haute were chilly Thursday night, but for the glow of hot pasta inside Louise’s Pizzeria and Cafe.
-
Contract signed for new Y
Papers are signed and the ink is in place for a new YMCA to operate in Terre Haute.
-
City to impose $30 release fee on towed vehicles
The Terre Haute City Council voted without opposition Thursday to impose a new $30 release fee on vehicles towed and impounded by the police as part of a criminal investigation.
-
Valley educators cautious on Indiana’s ‘No Child’ waiver
Indiana is one of 10 states to receive a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
-
Driver dies after Illinois school bus crash
“Brace yourself. Brace yourself,” Fay Pickering shouted to her students just before the school bus she was driving crossed U.S. 40 and landed in a ditch Thursday morning.
-
Trial date set for former WTH police chief
A July 23 trial date has been set for a former police chief of West Terre Haute accused of theft.
-
Motorcycle gang member pleads guilty in federal court
A member of an Indianapolis motorcycle gang who delivered methamphetamine to a Terre Haute dealer has pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court.
-
July trial date set for mother charged with child neglect
A July 30 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute mother charged with neglecting and battering her toddler.
-
Business hosting SPPRAK fundraiser
Java Haute is hosting the latest fundraiser sponsored by SPPRAK — Special People Performing Random Acts of Kindness.
-
Valley high school cooking competition under way today
Clabber Girl Corp. and Gordon Food Services will host the fourth-annual High School Chef Competition, beginning today through Saturday, and again Feb. 18, in the Culinary Classroom at Clabber Girl.
- UPDATE: Marshall, Ill., school bus driver involved in accident dies; cause appears to be cardiac-related
-
Terre Haute road name game
What used to be called U.S. 40 from the Wabash River west through West Terre Haute to Interstate 70 needs to be renamed and, probably, get new street addresses, a Vigo County planner recommends.
-
MARK BENNETT: William Henry Harrison taught us how to campaign
William Henry Harrison is running for president, again.
It seems impossible, because today would be his 239th birthday, and America has never elected a deceased person to the Oval Office. -
Air National Guard cuts won’t hit 181st Intelligence Wing
The Air National Guard is taking the lion’s share of planned cuts announced last week by the U.S. Air Force. But no cuts are currently expected at Terre Haute’s 181st Intelligence Wing. In fact, the nation’s evolving defense strategy may spell growth at the local base.
-
Friends group takes over Ernie Pyle home in Dana
The western Indiana home in which renowned Hoosier journalist Ernie Pyle was born and an adjacent museum dedicated to preserving his legacy as a World War II correspondent have a new owner.
-
ISU rec center pool out of service while being repaired
Indiana State University is spending about $10,000 to repair a swimming pool at the Student Recreation Center, which opened in 2009.
-
Clinton man throws away, then recovers, $50,000 ticket
A Vermillion County man found himself in a scenario that strikes fear in the heart of Lottery players everywhere. He threw away a $50,000 winning ticket.
-
Show to feature talents of artists with disabilities
Artists whose disabilities have overshadowed their work get a chance to shine in the light of a prodigy this coming month.
-
Fort Wayne forester tells of damage
The emerald ash borer likely will cause as much as $8 million in damage to Fort Wayne’s ash trees by 2015, the city’s manager of forestry operations told a Terre Haute audience Tuesday.
-
Unclaimed assets now part of Goodwill auction site
Many of Indiana’s unclaimed assets are now on Goodwill’s online auction site, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced Tuesday.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
Video of M.I.A's Obscene Halftime Gesture
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Raw Video: Rough Seas Stop Oil Removal
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Woman Pleads Guilty in 1987 Newborn Kidnap Case
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
The Pits: Israelis Spit Olives for Glory
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
Skaters Still Hold Hope for Dutch Marathon
Snow Strands Italian Towns
Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Absolute Lin-sanity
Hate to be Rude: Bubba Watson
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
Funeral to be held for Powell boys
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow
Halle Wants to Leave the Country
Northern Lights shine above earth
Plane makes perfect belly landing
