Protesters in Detroit hope that staking out a recently-shuttered library branch will convince officials to re-open it.
Four Detroit library branches--Lincoln, Monteith, Mark Twain, and Richard--closed their doors for good just before Christmas.
But library defenders say they’ll stake out the Lincoln branch library, and try to stop any efforts to remove the library’s inventory.
Shanta Driver is with the activist group By Any Means Necessary, which organized the effort. She says neighbors are watching the library, and they’ve organized a phone tree to bring in enough people to surround the library if and when moving trucks show up.
“There’s so many people in the neighborhood who have been watching, and just keeping tabs on what’s going on here, that I think we can be here,” Driver says.
BAMN and other library advocates say the branches are a vital resource in their neighborhoods, and closing them would deal a devastating blow.
Detroit Public Library officials say it’s a necessary move to cut costs in the face of declining revenues, and cover staff shortages.
