By: Diane Benjamin
The City Manager has issued a report for February. The library stats posted for 2018 are not the same stats used in 2017, so I took the ones that can be compared and turned them into a chart.
2018 Library facts: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=16111
2017 Library facts: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12434
The library wasn’t included in the 2016 February City Manager’s Report, so I don’t know the number of visitors then either: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=10412
In 2017 an average of 22 people attended programs. In 2018 it went up to 26. Since traffic is down, programs are why the library wants to expand. Is this why libraries exist?
Meanwhile Downtown Bloomington continues to lose people, The YMCA is the latest to announce they will be leaving downtown: http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/coming-together-ymca-hopes-to-build-on-osf-st-joseph/article_1f1562f4-00e0-5917-b64f-37e8a6ba913d.html#tracking-source=home-top-story
Look for the City of Bloomington to buy their property next.
Every attempt by the Bloomington City Council to revitalize downtown is making it worse. I hope they didn’t waste money on a way-finding sign for the Y.
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These numbers will continue to decline every year. Is it not 2018? Why exactly would anyone go to a library if everything is the world in available online? Stick a fork the library (and all libraries) it is done.
The library leadership and their friends in government know that technology and open information available via the Internet, whether on a smartphone or desktop, has rendered the library obsolete. They know they’ll never win this argument. So, they have been engaging in a campaign – “Books are just the beginning” – to reimagine the library as a centralized venue. In this case, building it around programs. It’s a futile effort to hold back evolution and progress, and try to hold onto and romance about the past. This will not end well. Also, Diane is spot on…the more money Tari throws at Downtown, the worse it gets. Great call on hiring Trish and giving her a budget to squander, er invest, in the Downtown! Tari and his ilk still don’t understand that the market doesn’t care what they think things should be.
There is not enough tax revenue to take care of the “properties” (including streets) that are already owned. There is already $3M of undeveloped land in downtown owned by the City. I’m sure the Council is also looking at the old Grand Cafe property adjacent to the BCPA. Priority based budgeting—Scotty, do you want to replace O’Neill pool or do you want another parking lot downtown?
they don’t think or worry about either facts or cause and effect . they have and always will think throwing dollars at an issue is the best way to promote it , make it prosperous , or be better .. they don’t understand free enterprise , nor how markets and things work , they live in a dream world that only can be achieved by exorbitant use of tax dollars ,, even if doing so is both wasteful and/or detrimental
And then there was the recent grand publicity scheme with the Library giving out “free” library cards to all the school children. If the kids really wanted one they could just go to the library and get one. I wonder how much that little charade cost?
So true. They’re trying to boost their numbers. I wonder if the kids, even the little ones, laugh at them and say “I just Google it” or “I learn by watching YouTube videos”. Haha!
We seem to have people here in power who are living in 1986. Library cards? Kids that have grown up with technology and the internet would want library cards? Maybe if they had a $20 bill paper clipped them, they might be interested. OK here is a plan… The city uses the money they are currently wasting on the library and set up a Wi-Fi system in town to provide free wireless connections everywhere. Provide free tablets to anyone who is low income and needs a computer. Now close the library and layoff the staff. There will be dump truck loads of cash left for other things to really help our town (like fix the roads) and the poor people in it.
Why would anyone use free wi-fi? To be hacked?
Well that is an issue but not deal breaker – attaching a study: The Role of Public Wi-Fi in
Enabling Smart Cities (Business Models and Use Cases for Maximum Impact)
Public Wi-Fi could be something that could help launch our waning 20th Century oriented economy into the 21st Century – our leadership here would never consider anything that would change the status quo… building libraries and bus station makes more sense to them. https://ruckus-www.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/other/role-of-public-wifi.pdf
Here is some information about a local initiative:
2018 Community Information Forum Registration is Open!
MCRPC’s 13th Annual Community Information Forum will be on April 11th at Radisson
Hotel in Normal. This year’s forum will feature “21st Century Communities for 21st Century Citizens” with keynote speaker Bob Bennett, Chief Innovation Officer in Kansas City, MO.
http://www.mcplan.org
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Haven’t we seen enough of government straightener create properity?
The History Museum has already received $250K tax dollars to provide free WiFi within a 3 block radius.
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According to the Pantograph article about the YMCA, I thought it was interesting about the parking improvement of three times more that what they have now. Well were are the pedestrians and bicyclcle riders? Parking? Who needs parking?
“YMCA and OSF would share a new parking lot between the proposed Y and the medical office building, said Boore and Wilken. “We would have three times the amount of parking compared with what we have now,” Wilken said.”