ALA Protests Fort Library Closure
Closings at other military bases may be in the offing
By Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 5/1/2007
The American Library Association (ALA) has protested the March 1 closing of the Fort Huachuca Library, Sierra Vista, AZ, a move that may be a harbinger of future closings of libraries at military bases. The closure, which saves the army post $350,000 a year, came about after the Defense Authorization Act of 2005 mandated both Fort Huachuca and Fort Gordon (Augusta, GA) to partner with municipalities on certain services.
Only Fort Huachuca proposed a library partnership, joining with Sierra Vista. However, the city estimated that operating the fort library as a branch of the city would cost more than the base library’s current operating expenses. So army officials decided to close the base library and send military personnel to the main city library. The three library staffers were reassigned, and the collection dispersed.
“The army is sending Fort Huachuca soldiers and their families off base to the city library for reduced library services,” said ALA president Leslie Burger, who sent a letter to the acting army secretary. “A number of services the soldiers had received—including military-network programs and access to library staff knowledgeable in military-related issues—are now unavailable.”
A February 8 article in The Scout, the base newspaper, offered a more positive perspective, noting that, even though it’s a ten-minute drive for many, the city’s main library “is actually closer to the most distant military housing area than the post library on many other installations” and would provide better service.
