JACKSON LIBRARY MAKES A LATERAL MOVE

JACKSON -- It wasn't the move she expected, but Jackson Public Library's head librarian is ready to reunite with City Hall.

After 19 years of working in the same place, Sally Pierce is sorting through books and card catalogs, pitching unusable items and salvaging the decent ones for a book sale.

When all the library's possessions are pared down to the minimum, they will be moved from the old Jackson City Hall-Public Library building on South High to the new one on Court Street.

Pierce, along with the library board, believed the next move would be to a completely new facility. If the new City Hall was used at all, it was supposed to be merely a stopover on the way to a better, larger place.

But in November voters overwhelmingly defeated a tax increase proposal that would have paid for a merger with Riverside Regional Library in Jackson and a new library building. The boards of Jackson Public Library and Riverside worked together to promote the plan.

During the campaign, Jackson library board members hinted that their library was in danger of closing if the increase wasn't approved. Now that the library has remained open, some say the board used scare tactics to promote the merger.

It isn't so, said Jackson library board president Terri Tomlin. After facing a $30,000 budget cut -- money the city stopped paying to subsidize the library -- closing was a serious consideration. Instead, the board voted to lay off a full-time employee, shorten hours of operation, close on Saturdays and cut the book budget.

City Administrator Steve Wilson said the extra money given the library out of the general fund was supposed to be temporary -- not a permanent solution to budget problems. When it became apparent that the library's tax base wouldn't increase anytime soon, aldermen voted to end the support.

Mayor Paul Sander said another consideration was the Riverside Regional patrons who pay city taxes. When general fund money went to Jackson Public Library, these patrons were paying taxes to support both facilities.

When New McKendree Methodist Church bought the old City Hall building, Jackson library had no choice but to reunite with City Hall at its new location.

The proposed move brought a whole new round of complications. City Hall's upper floors wouldn't support all the books' weight, so the only place to go was the bottom floor of the unoccupied west wing.

"There's no room for growth," Tomlin said. "There will barely be room for the books and a checkout desk. We will try to squeeze in a couple tables, but people will probably want to take their books upstairs."

The west wing's second floor will feature periodicals, a reading room, the librarian's office and a small board room. Tomlin said she is concerned that there won't be any staff to keep an eye on the second floor, but there is no immediate solution.

More volunteers may help, however, and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program is heading up an effort to recruit volunteer librarians to work a few hours each week.

In the meantime, Pierce and her crew keep sorting books and look forward to the reunion.

"The best solution was the combination of the two libraries, but I'll be excited just to be in a place with fresh paint and new flooring," Pierce said. "Either way, we're committed to serve our patrons the best we can with what we have."

Jackson library will close at 5 p.m. April 12 for two weeks of moving and reopen in the new location on May 1.