Florida: “Six of 22 Miami-Dade Libraries Could Be Saved From Chopping Block”

Here’s an update to our Miami-Dade Library coverage from earlier this month.
From the Miami Herald:

An updated plan for cuts to the Miami-Dade County budget would keep open six of 22 public libraries initially slated for closure.
[Clip]
Amid uproar over Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s proposal to shut down nearly half of the county’s 49 libraries, administrators have been drafting alternatives to make the budget cuts a little less painful. A final plan won’t be approved by county commissioners until two public hearings on the budget in September.
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The six libraries that would be saved under the latest proposal were chosen in part because of the popular services they provide poorer communities, such as Internet access and after-school programs for children, Martinez said.

Read the Complete Article
List of Six Branch Libraries That Might Be Saved From Possible Closure

• Culmer
• Lakes of the Meadows
• Lemon City
• Little River
• Opa-locka
• Shenandoah

Also New Today, Interview:  Bookleggers’ Founder Nathaniel Sandler on Miami’s Library Closings: “I Think It’s Shameful” (via Miami New Times)

Nathaniel Sandler is a founding member of Bookleggers, a successful mobile library celebrating its one-year anniversary this Sunday at the Broken Shaker.

Previous Coverage

Video: NBC Miami Airs Report on Proposed Miami-Dade County Public Library Closings (July 24, 2013)
Miami-Dade Public Library Closure Plan Would Hit Poorer Areas Harder (July 17, 2013
Miami Dade Library To Close Nearly Half its Branches (via LJ)
Miami-Dade County Releases List of 22 Public Libraries on Chopping Block, 251 Layoffs Also Possible (July 16, 2013)

Filed under: Interviews, Libraries, News, Profiles, Public Libraries