The Birmingham Library delays plans to close four branches after city officials protest
The Birmingham Public Library Board of Trustees has delayed a proposed vote to shut down four library branches after receiving criticism from city leaders, including Mayor Randall Woodfin.
In a letter to BPL staff sent out Oct. 8, board President Eunice Johnson Rogers said the board would consider shutting down the BPL’s East Ensley, Ensley, North Avondale and Titusville locations during its Oct. 12 meeting.
“Now we are challenged with supporting Mayor Woodfin’s vision of decreasing the number of Birmingham Public Library physical locations,” Rogers wrote. “After careful consideration, the BPL Board of Trustees recommends the permanent closure of the East Ensley, Ensley, North Avondale and Titusville Branch Libraries. All branch libraries identified for closure are located less than three miles from another BPL location.”
Rogers’ letter said staff from those branches would be reassigned to work at the BPL’s Five Points West, Avondale and North Birmingham branches.
“It would be great if we could continue to maintain each branch location, but in this current environment it is just not feasible,” Rogers wrote.
During Oct. 12’s City Council meeting, Council President William Parker said councilors found out about the proposed closures at the same time as staff.
“The first time that we received communication was about 5 p.m. on Friday afternoon,” he said, adding that the board had subsequently opted to remove the proposed closures from its agenda.
Parker assured the public that the vote had been delayed.
Despite being cited in Rogers’ letter, Woodfin said he had not been consulted on the decision and did not support the library closures.
“I haven’t spoken with President Rogers,” he said in a statement. “I have not been afforded the opportunity to share my vision with her or anyone on the library board. I am extremely disappointed in Ms. Rogers’ decision to announce plans to consider closing facilities without pausing to consult me, nor the council nor the residents. Such unilateral action by the library board president jeopardizes confidence in the board tasked with overseeing our libraries. The public expects better, and I expect better. The board has received recommendations from people they’ve hired to assess the library system. They should have an honest conversation with the public and open communications with the council and me rather than Ms. Rogers playing games.”
During Tuesday’s council meeting, Parker suggested that the council would soon appoint new members to the library board.
“There are some things this council can do and was prepared to do before the meeting at 4:30 p.m. today,” he said. “Some of the board members’ [terms] have expired, and some will be expiring fairly soon … We will deal with them accordingly. Overall, there are good people on the board, but I think sometimes they just put the cart before the horse.”
Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he targeted U.S. political parties, memo says
The man accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of Jan. 6, 2021 told investigators someone needed to "speak up" for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen, prosecutors said Sunday.
Chinese military stages drills around Taiwan to warn ‘external forces’
The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at U.S. arms sales, and a statement by Japan's prime minister saying its military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan.
Trump and Netanyahu to meet in Florida at a crucial moment for the Gaza ceasefire
President Trump could use the face-to-face at his Mar-a-Lago estate to look for ways to speed up the peace process, as Israel's leader has been accused of not pushing his side to move fast enough.
‘Bomb cyclone’ forecasted to bring heavy snow, blizzard conditions and dangerous travel
A 'bomb cyclone' is intensifying severe winter weather for millions of people across the U.S. The system is expected to knock out power and disrupt holiday travel.
Russia sends 3 Iranian satellites into orbit, report says
The report said that a Russian rocket sent the satellites on Sunday from a launchpad in eastern Russia.
Viral global TikToks: A twist on soccer, Tanzania’s Charlie Chaplin, hope in Gaza
TikToks are everywhere (well, except countries like Australia and India, where they've been banned.) We talk to the creators of some of the year's most popular reels from the Global South.
