AFS Cinema
Details on Twin Oaks Closing
RECEIVED Sun., July 1, 2007
Dear Editor,
This is a rather late response to Kate Walker's letter of a couple weeks ago concerning Twin Oaks Library [“Postmarks” online, May 22].
It is always unfortunate when a library has to close for any length of time. The Twin Oaks closing is especially hard to take since the Manchaca branch is already closed (still), making finding a library tough for those in the near-south area. Twin Oak's Internet computers are badly needed by those in the area. And while the book collection is smallish, it does have a high circulation rate. The fact that the location itself will be closing eventually in favor of a new building does make the timing of a spruce-up seem dubious. Actually, the work has been badly needed for years – the carpet has been there since the mid-Eighties, and believe me, you wouldn't want your kid to sit/lie on it. The money came through – partly provided by the owner of the shopping center, I might add – so they decided to do it. Infrastructure is not such an unimportant thing. The library will be remaining in its strip-mall location for a least two years. I don't think four months closed is such a high cost to give the people of the neighborhood and the people who work there a decent environment. Twin Oaks continues to get new materials weekly through totally separate funding. The carpet and paint, in other words, are not coming at the expense of library materials.
So, while the timing seems bad, I don't think the revamp is a bad thing to spend four months doing while we all wait patiently for the brand-new branch to open in a couple of years.
The funding for the new central library includes doubling the number of Internet stations and purchasing more than 80,000 new materials (books, CDs, DVDs). Check out the library website, www.ci.austin.tx.us/library, for accurate information.
This is a rather late response to Kate Walker's letter of a couple weeks ago concerning Twin Oaks Library [“Postmarks” online, May 22].
It is always unfortunate when a library has to close for any length of time. The Twin Oaks closing is especially hard to take since the Manchaca branch is already closed (still), making finding a library tough for those in the near-south area. Twin Oak's Internet computers are badly needed by those in the area. And while the book collection is smallish, it does have a high circulation rate. The fact that the location itself will be closing eventually in favor of a new building does make the timing of a spruce-up seem dubious. Actually, the work has been badly needed for years – the carpet has been there since the mid-Eighties, and believe me, you wouldn't want your kid to sit/lie on it. The money came through – partly provided by the owner of the shopping center, I might add – so they decided to do it. Infrastructure is not such an unimportant thing. The library will be remaining in its strip-mall location for a least two years. I don't think four months closed is such a high cost to give the people of the neighborhood and the people who work there a decent environment. Twin Oaks continues to get new materials weekly through totally separate funding. The carpet and paint, in other words, are not coming at the expense of library materials.
So, while the timing seems bad, I don't think the revamp is a bad thing to spend four months doing while we all wait patiently for the brand-new branch to open in a couple of years.
The funding for the new central library includes doubling the number of Internet stations and purchasing more than 80,000 new materials (books, CDs, DVDs). Check out the library website, www.ci.austin.tx.us/library, for accurate information.
Justin Broce