Jackson Jambalaya

Who actually uses a library? Recycle what’s let of the books, declare the building surplus and sell it to the highest bidder.

But you see KF, beyond endless gum flapping and meaningless weekly press conferences there is NO PLAN and no ability to manage the city. Greenhorns come to the job with no experience and, four plus years later, Mayor Yammeralot still is without a clue.

Can you enjoy the aroma of the Eubanks from that location?

The Library got that much rain during Ida? Maybe a few days later...

Dear Anonymous:

I suspect that you don't use the library, in fact, I bet you don't read or research a great deal. I bet that Google or Wikipedia supply most of your personal data base. No wait, let me guess. You're a Democrat...

If not, then back up a little and think about what libraries, librarians and archivists offer the community. The deterioration of these services is a tragedy.

10:08 you are right. apart from public internet, free 'rental' of ebooks, and public printing, libraries have become a thing of the past.

I work at a university in the area. Our library is used for study space rather than books. and the collection has been going away to off-campus storage in order to make more room for group study rooms...

Kingfish, that's way too logical of an idea/solution for the ass clowns at Jacktown city hall. They will fuck it up like they do everything else.

Who actually uses a library is the saddest question I have heard in a while.

pitiful

City of Jackson has proved it can't maintain real estate, it should only lease, not buy.

Sell off many of its 5oo(?) properties, including zoo and convention center, to pay for better infrastructure and to get those properties on the tax roll. Easy management choice for adults, too responsible for Boy Mayor, Ghetto King.

for many years it had the only escalator in town. We used to play on it while mom shopped for the latest styles @ Sears

Growing up and reading free books at the library is a treasured memory for me.

But that personal nostalgia and love of literature does not mean I agree that tax dollars wasted on a building that is used rarely.

Yes, I think extravagances like the Zoo and Conference center should be considered more expendable.

But in a city that seems bankrupt (both morally and financially) don't kid yourself that saving the libraries will ever be given serious consideration.

No matter how sad that fact is.

Our family uses the Madison library lol the time for kid books and movies and other such things. It’s great and they love going. I do use the e book check out feature and audio book feature too. I don’t see any point in fixing this one based on its location and the damage. Move the books and demolish the building. You could literally have a nice library in a big metal warehouse for cheap. As long as climate controlled it would serve it’s purpose just fine.

my question is who allows a roof to get in that bad of shape. Strucurally the building might cave in if water continues to leak. The city of jackson is probably the most incompitent bunch of people ever.

As with the complete and utter disinterest in what rampant crime is doing to this City, facilities like libraries - or even the concept of such - aren't worthwhile in the "radical" mindset. No, if math, and even more abstract concepts like punctuality, composure, etc. - among a variety of other things - are now considered to be racist constructs, one can clearly see why the culture currently in charge has no motivation to revitalize an old building with a bunch of older books. That's a concept - like that of an orderly society - that simply doesn't translate into their book of important things.

Chokwe Antar Lumumba is the most incompetent Mayor in Jackson's history. It isn't even close.

The kids who run the City of Jackson and Hinds County have real problems making hard decisions. The libraries and the zoo require a complete rethink considering the reality of shrinking demand and ever shrinking cash flow. Consolidate all libraries into one facility which the city can afford to maintain and close the zoo before bleeding any more money on lost causes. Tough decisions but necessary. C'mon kids.

Buying another building, only to never maintain it, is a complete waste of time and money.
Jackson needs to get out of the real estate business if they refuse to maintain any of their buildings. Sell them all.

If I was cynical, I'd say the current mayor & several of those before him must not want educated residents. Otherwise, few would vote for them. How else can the city tolerate crumbling libraries & failed public schools? But thank goodness I'm not cynical.

Waste waste waste yes Jackson does not have the money it used to but they still waste more money than anybody. I mean fix one thing today .

Remember, any property the city would buy is removed from the tax roles.

Of course it is crumbling away. Any funds set aside for it were pocketed by a who's who of city officials over the years.

11:34 ,close on that ranking but #1 goes to the team that was in charge of planning and executing the recent "tails tucked" exit from Afghanistan.

I'm sure it's white peoples' fault the library is falling in upon itself - at least in the mayor's mindset.

Can't the boy prince-mayor hire his sister to study this? It seems like a $250,000 contract would be appropriate. However, once she receives the money she will book it.

To really appreciate a library one must be able to read

Hinds County is pulling the EOC out of Welty and is building their own headquarters off of I-55. You know its bad when Hinds County bails out on you.

The nursing of "Jackzombie" land" continues...

Blow it up !

However, no one can take away my "Boomer childhood memories"
of walking into that Sears Department store without being hit with the aroma of fresh roasting peanuts or fresh hot buttered popcorn.

Now the smell of mildew awaits those that are brave enough to walk into that shell of a building.

That lady who bought metro center probably could come up with a solution.

I hate that the library is in such bad shape especially for First Baptist Church Jackson sake. First Baptist should have move many years ago.

The bidding process for COJ projects is so convoluted and full of collusion that most contractors are hesitant to participate. Coupled with crappy design and specs, slow pay, and it turns into a "get in and out asap" half-assed job.

The question shouldn't be who uses a library anymore. Sadly, it should be why don't people use the library more?

I fully acknowledge that I am a product of my nearly 70 years of lily-white ass-ness living an elevated socioeconomic status life in the south. I've been blessed or lucky, whichever you prefer (I'll go with both). If anyone expects me to apologize or feel guilty for what I've achieved, you can expect in one hand and shit in the other. I can assure you which hand will fill first. But I know - not guess or wish, KNOW - that there are innumerable black kids out there that could be, would be, and should be productive members of a functional society. But until they are given the real opportunity to learn, society has failed them and that includes me. Mayor Lumumba had an education. His namesake, Patrice Lumumba, was an educated, well-read man. This has nothing to do with race, the JPS, primary school or college, it has to do with education, i.e, the ability and opportunity to learn.

So, Mr. Lumumba, Mayor of Jackson, if you or any of your staff reads this, I challenge you to challenge yourself and the community (and again, that includes me) to help kids learn and become educated. Not merely show up in a school, but _learn_. It is well past time for the bullshit to stop and well past time for the importance of education to be a primary goal of yours and ours (everyone in Mississippi).

Put up or shut up. Or if he will not or cannot do either, kick his ass to the curb in the next election and elect someone who has his or her priories in order.

The caretakers of the libraries are the kids and grandkids of the heroes who bravely broke segregation's stronghold on these libraries.
Think about that for a sec.

So many good memories of Livingston Park Branch Library. I guess its gone too. We live in Clinton and enjoy a very nice (Small) library that (Tragically) does not belong to Clinton.

I remember several years ago a situation came up where several valuable pieces of art work that had been given to the Clinton Library by the artists who painted them turned up missing. It turned out the county system director in the old Sears building saw them and stole them for her office.

If I could, I would buy the Clinton Branch and gift it to Clinton. As I see it, that is the only hope of saving our library.

So sad to read about this. Many years ago in a different career, I was a reporter at one of the local stations and one of my first assignments was covering the opening of the Eudora Welty Library and I remember doing an interview with Ms. Welty, who was a lovely and gracious lady. While the streets, water, etc. clearly demonstrate the incompetence of the leadership of Jackson, a city that lets its libraries rot broadcasts to the world it is a failure. The question was asked “ who uses libraries?” In New Orleans where I now live ( yes, New Orleans has plenty of its own problems), the Library system is excellent city- wide and the answer to the question is “everybody.” The antics of Jackson’s Mayor and the equally hapless city council would make for a hilarious sit-com if it was not so tragic for the people living there.