Let's Save the Riverside Library

Links of Interest

Here are some links that will give you more information on the Riverside closure and related topics.

Riverside in the News

• On August 19, the Austin American-Statesman wrote a very good story on the Riverside closure.

• On August 27, the Statesman followed up with an article on the Rescue Riverside effort.

• The August 29 Austin Chronicle Naked City column covered the backlash to the proposed Riverside closure.

• When we tell people the City wants to close Riverside, the invariable response is, "Why would they do that?" That simple question has a surprisingly complex answer. We usually just mumble something about tight spending and budget priorities. In the September 5 issue of the Austin Chronicle, Mike Clark-Madison wrote an awesome article about the policy issues that lead to this decision.

City of Austin Links

• If you want to phone, write, or email the Council: the City of Austin maintains a web page with information on how to contact the Mayor and City Council.

• The City of Austin also maintains a web page with information on the 1997/98 Budget. You'll find an overview and discussion of the library budget here.

• If you are willing to wade through it, you'll find some mention of library issues in the City Manager's Letter of Transmittal. In particular, down towards the very end, the City Manager discusses how he'd like to shut down the neighborhood libraries (like Riverside) and replace them with big regional libraries.