Local Official Suggests Closing N. Andover, MA, Public Library

-- Library Journal, 3/13/2006

Alfred M. Perry, the North Andover, MA, school committee chair and a local insurance agent, has devised a draconian plan devised to save the ailing town's budget. Among the tactics: close the local library and use the building to house the school superintendent's offices. Perry told the local press that eliminating the library would trim $780,000 off the budget plus save another $180,000 in rent for the superintendent's current digs. Perry says that "libraries have become antiquated systems" and that citizens shouldn't have to choose between cutting police, fire, and education. The school budget has a nearly $3 million deficit, so while Perry wants to save the teachers, he apparently cares nothing for librarians. He claims that many library services could be transferred to the high school library at little cost. Fierce opposition is expected.