Dear Editor:
The City Administration, the Board of Trustees, and the director of the Jersey City Free Public Library must reconsider the slated closing in November 2010 of the Lafayette Branch of the Jersey City Free Public Library. The Lafayette Branch, although a very small facility but one that has been open since 1924, is one of the few public assets in our neighborhood, an area already underserved by services and amenities readily available to and enjoyed by other Jersey City residents. In this area where recent reports of crime are becoming more and more rampant, our library provides an unmistakable positive environment for the community and one that should be indispensable, especially during these difficult times. The children and families of Lafayette need this library more than ever before. It serves as support for our local school and our students. For young children not yet in school, it is the only library within walking distance available to them. And in our community, the Lafayette branch ensures that Internet resources are available to everyone – not just to those who can readily afford a home computer. Our library is a functioning community center, a neutral gathering place for the free exchange of ideas, culture, entertainment, and knowledge. Libraries represent a cornerstone of a viable and healthy community. Ours may be small and Spartan with only two librarians on staff, but the benefits and services it provides, especially for a neighborhood like Lafayette, are invaluable and long-lasting.
At a time when many of our families are facing economic hardships, the closing of the Lafayette Branch represents the city’s betrayal of our community and the future of this city. (Keep in mind that the closing of the Pacific Avenue Post Office, across the street from the library, as well as the elimination of bus services, are still fresh in our minds. And our property taxes had gone up.) Lafayette is already hurting; we don’t want to be further discouraged.
We ask the City Administration, the Board of Trustees and the director of the JCFPL to support the values we place on literacy, education, culture, and freedom by ensuring that the Lafayette Branch doors remain open. This branch survived the “Great Depression.” I ask them to please find it within their authority, capacity, commitment to the public, and their hearts to keep our library open. We ask them to please not turn their backs on the children and families of Lafayette.
Lycel P. Villanueva, RA, PP, LEED AP