Monday, December 3, 2018

Planning While Crumbling

The city libraries are literally disintegrating before our eyes in Jackson.   Clarion-Ledger reporter Justin Vicery placed the Jackson-Hinds Library System under a microscope and told a story of a city library system whose survival is in question.  Mr. Vicery reported last week:

The library system that helped create nationally recognized Jackson authors like Eudora Welty and Richard Ford is now facing a crisis that threatens its existence.

On the line are tens of thousands of books facing potential destruction from black mold, leaking buildings that pose a hazard to staff and patrons, and outlays of funds for unbudgeted expenses at a time when both the city and state have cut allocations.

The Jackson Hinds Library System is looking at serious funding issues as it struggles to find a permanent city-owned location for its administrative staff and overcome chronic flooding issues at two of its main branches.

Another looming crisis: Unless the system's budget is bolstered by $500,000 by March, it stands to lose $537,000 in grant monies for personnel and health and life insurance that require matching funds.

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba says his administration has bold plans for the future of the library system in Jackson, but so far the delay in addressing the issue has only frustrated the system's director, Patty Furr, and some council members....

Ah yes, the master plan. There is always a master plan.

Robert Blaine, Jackson's chief administrative officer, said the administration is taking a "holistic" approach. It's reviewing an overhaul of the system to bring the entire system more up to date. Its review includes the possible relocation of some branches to more trafficked areas.

"Libraries are no longer repositories of books. Libraries are a space for the access of new information and for the creation of new knowledge. We need to begin to think of what a 21st-century library system in Jackson looks like. How does that align with our public school system? How does that align with our community needs? How do we build capacity?"

Blaine said the downside of the approach is that it has taken longer for the administration to address the immediate needs of individual branches. He said the administration doesn't want to "just put a Band-aid" on the system.

"Like many things in Jackson, there are so many immediate needs. Historically, we've been in the practice of putting Band-aids on these needs. What we're trying to do as an administration is to get to the root causes," he said.

But every day that nothing happens is a setback for Furr and the community that has come to rely on their library.

"I came here to make a difference but ultimately, the city is going to have to decide what it wants to do," said Furr, who was hired as executive director in 2013 from the Coast where she served in the same capacity for the Hancock County Library System. "These are your libraries, Mr. Mayor. They need your help," she said. Rest of article.
Mr. Blaine's goals are understandable as well as desirable.  Unfortunately, the enemy doesn't always cooperate.  The buildings are literally disintegrating or becoming unusable as mold and water don't understand master plans  Ms. Furr has gone to the City Council several times literally begging for help but to no avail.

Here is some free advice, Mr. Mayor. The county wants to purchase the downtown library. SELL IT!!! Get that building off of the books. That would be one less expense to worry about and the city gets some much needed cash.

This closing passage from the October 27 post about the rotting away of 34,000 books still says it all.

 A reading of the article will show a classic case of politicians pointing the fingers at each other while nothing gets done.  Executive Director Patty Furr begged the City Council and Mayor's Office several times to seek an alternative site to the Charles Tisdale Library after it closed.   They told Ms. Furr that the city first wanted to get an inventory of all property and buildings owned by the city while the City Council took her pleas under advisement.  Next anyone? Well, the books mildewed  while the PhD's studied and the politicians yapped.  The mold inconveniently ignored the master plans and did what it does best, seek and destroy.

 There are no excuses for this catastrophe.  None.  To think that the Civil Rights leaders fought like hell to get access to the Jackson libraries.   Now the current leaders can't be bothered to save them.

Who needs book burning when neglect will do just as well? 

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

So much incompetence.

Just sayin' said...

It's only a perception of deteriorating libraries. Besides, the money is needed for Baby Chocke's national "radical city tour."

Messick said...

They are not the Mayor's libraries, my dear.

Anonymous said...

Free The Land!

Anonymous said...

"Libraries are a space for the access of new information and for the creation of new knowledge."

I always thought libraries are places for new minds to learn existing knowledge.

Anonymous said...

Close. The. Zoo.

Anonymous said...

Hire a consulting firm. Yarber may have some recommendations.

Dismal Dewey said...

"A bold plan". "A holistic approach". "Study the root cause" (of mold and mildew).

And lastly, this: "How does a 21st century library align with our public school system?" (as in WTF?)

Anonymous said...

By the time Chokwe is finished, the Jackson public library will be somewhere in Mynelle Gardens in a pup tent with a folding table. So sad.

President Liberia said...

These Libraries were in a poor condition before Mayor Lumumba was elected. The blame should not rest on his shoulder.

Anonymous said...

So much incompetence.

Well hot'damn, maybe if you were just as outraged at the white politicians, maybe this state would start turning the tide and start climbing out of last place.

Anonymous said...

4:33 - As you may know, the 'white politicians' will always have the stumbling block presented by the 'black caucus'. Some politicians don't want progress or change, only a continuation of the benefit-trough maintained by the political plantation.

Anonymous said...

"These Libraries were in a poor condition before Mayor Lumumba was elected. The blame should not rest on his shoulder."

If we use that yardstick to assess accountability and responsibility, then the current mayor doesn't have anything to do.

Anonymous said...

Nobody reads books anymore. Everthing is on the internet.

Close 'em all down.

Anonymous said...

Libraries are "free" internet cafes and bathing (in the sinks) stations for the homeless.

They have books?

Close the libraries; close the zoo; fix the roads; fix the water system.

Anonymous said...

In the event of cyberwar or civil war, books will be critical sources for survival information.

Anyone who has every done good research knows that all written knowledge is not yet on the Internet. It takes a while to download thousands of years and some books and documents have not been made available for download.


Please try to think beyond the present.

Anonymous said...

@ 7:20am

4:33 - As you may know, the 'white politicians' will always have the stumbling block presented by the 'black caucus'. Some politicians don't want progress or change, only a continuation of the benefit-trough maintained by the political plantation

I guess you can say that is a convenient excuse for both sides of the racial-political spectrum in Mississippi: "the 'black politicians' will always have the stumbling block presented by the 'white caucus' and vice versa the 'white politicians' will always have the stumbling block presented by the 'black caucus'

Be nice when the citizens of the black and white persuasions get sick of being dead last and decide to get this place in order.

Whites can't keep blaming this state's problems on the black population and vice versa.

Anonymous said...

Let's be real people the libraries need to be saved so children and adults alike can have access to them. But they need to be improved such as turning them into a social gathering spot with coffee for sale and other items so the revenue can be used to add on to the upkeep of the Libraries. Also, should have events that charge a fee all to help with the upkeep of the library.

Baby Chok said...

Libraries are not in the master plan for the new radical Jackson.

Anonymous said...

Libraries, like the zoo, have a very difficult if not impossible road ahead in a city that is basically bankrupt. Neither of these establishments enjoy the public use or support they once had anywhere. Zoos are far outstripped by other readily available forms of entertainment and libraries are no longer exclusive home to the essential source of information, books and periodicals. If you have been to any college library recently, you will note that the whole operation could be condensed by 90 percent to the computer labs and desks. Might as well be a Starbucks. Sad but true. This is no excuse for Jackson's waste, but Jackson cannot afford to restore and maintain a a system more luxury than necessity. Elimination and/or down sizing is the only future a zoo or library has in this broke city.

Wiseowl said...

Does anyone in Jackson read?? Thought the libraries were after school child care centers.

Anonymous said...

Close the Zoo.
Close the libraries.
Close JPS.
Hire more cops. Make sure they are trained and competent.
Fix the water system.
Fix the streets

Oh wait, these items are not part of the radicalization plan. Keep up the good work Baby Chock and City Council.

Minister of the interior:“Padre, these are subtleties." . . .
Minister of the Interior to Prison Chaplain. Kubrick, Stanley, "A Clockwork Orange," London, 1971.

Next. . .

Kingfish said...

I do believe I said something about years of neglect. This crisis has been developing for years and through several administrations.


However, I've seen Ms. Furr personally go to the City Council and beg for something to be done. Nothing happened while the crumbling continued. Mold doesn't wait on debates or master plans.

As for why I mentioned this problem, well, I live in Jackson and believe in holding government accountable. Show me another library system in the tri-county area that is in such dire shape. Clinton had a problem. Mayor stepped in, shut it down, fixed it, and voila, it re-opened.

Of course, comparing a former supervisor, corporate executive, Ranger, Marine, and General to regular politicians is not exactly fair.

Anonymous said...

LOL at 8:12 & 8:37. Who's going to any library, anywhere, in Jackson in the middle of a civil war? As for 8:37, no one's going there now and it's free. Who do you think will go there and spend money? Libraries aren't a priority for this city, nor will they ever be. Jackson is in a death spiral and it hasn't even hit bottom yet.

Lumumba Accomplishments said...

Top Years for Jackson Murder:

1995 = 92
1994 = 91

2018 = 84 (Projection based on current murder rate.)

1993 = 84
1991 = 76
2008 = 73
1996 = 67

Tomes and Talismans said...

The Libraries need to be sealed in some underground bunker for 500 years until an alien race visits and wakes up a sleeping librarian to teach them all how to use the Dewey Decimal System.

https://youtu.be/6DzzPDnIKtQ

Set in a post apocalyptic world, Mississippi ETV created a Sci-fi TV series seen around the nation.

Now in 2018, the Wipers are real.

Anonymous said...

9:57
If you look at murders per capita, 1995 Jackson population = 188,200; 2017 Jackson population = 166,900. Jackson's murder rate per capita continues to increase.

Anonymous said...

Don’t forget. Our capital city is controlled by black separatists and afrocentrists. Our community meetings, hosted and led by the office of the mayor, are closed with black separatist chants and clenched fists symbolic of black supremacy. The mayor and his staff are afrocentrists who believe Africans are a master race and support their claims with absurd revisionist history. The mayor has stood on stage and openly espoused these views. They believe our history is the white man’s history and the books that fill our libraries are the white man’s lies housed in crumbling buildings that are relics that need to be destroyed. Sounds ridiculous, but it is the pathology of this administration. They are perfectly willing to destroy everything in their path in pursuit of their black utopia.

Anonymous said...

Move all the books to the Metro Center and have one library for Jackson.

Anonymous said...

@ December 4, 2018 at 8:37 AM

That's a good idea. Seriously.

Anonymous said...

@ December 4, 2028 at 11:21 a.m.

That's a bald faced lie and you know it. I'll bet you've never attended a single community meeting in Jackson since Lumumba has been mayor, or spoken with any of his staff.

No Justice, No Peace said...

@11:21 AM
Have you visited the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum yet? Have you seen the racism and violent hate crimes that were committed against African-American in this state? Do you have any idea what it is like to grow up with stories of relatives being beaten, abused, mirdered, and prevented from living like a human being with dignity. You should thank God everyday that you don't get the Zimbabwe treatment for the crimes and injustice of the El Diablo blanco.

Anonymous said...

11:21 and 1:45 Both of you should get some air! The mayor, like his father embraces Black nationalism and self-determination but has yet to profess a hatred of White people. You will also not find any time or place where he has advocated destroying books or libraries. His administration will probably prove inadequate to solve Jackson's increasing financial problems, but he didn't create them either. We all know Mississippi's sordid history 1:45. It's a shame, but it's also up to us to move forward. The museum is a reminder not a guide. Black anger may be justified but unless translated into positive action, it's a complete waste of time.

Anonymous said...

To KF and all intelligent bloggers herein: Beware of anyone like 11:21 who professes to know what some else believes.

No Justice, No Peace said...

@2:38PM
Moving forward will require some sort of recompense for over a century of abuse. It is easy to say "move on" when you benefit from the power structure of institutionalized racism to this day. Every tiny advancement that people of color scratch out of this land is met with contempt and treayed as some sort of personal slight and idignity by the white majority.

The city of Jackson is in the state it is in not because of crime. But because white people are simply scared to be outnumbered by the victims of their evil. I'm sure it was terrifying to try and go to sleep 40 years fo in Jackson if you have a bit of conscience about the rapes, beatings, lynchings, and inhuman treatment. I wouldn't want to live among my victims either.

Combine that with the corruption of previous city leadership and you have a perfect storm of decay of both morals and infrastructure. So forgive Antarctica if he tries to put victims ahead of the people who destroyed generations of people through institutionalized white supremacy.

Anonymous said...

12:45, not a bald faced lie at all.

Here's Dr. Safiya Omari (chief of staff under Lumumba) with Jackson Rising. At the 37 second mark, she begins the "Free the Land" chant. This same phrase can be heard repeated in multiple community forums around Jackson, often led by persons closely affiliated with the mayors office.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDw51LsjmYI

"Free the Land" is the motto of the Republic New of Afrika, a former terrorists organization. Lumumba Sr. was an integral figure. Without this organization there would be no Jackson Rising, no Jackson Kush plan, no Malcom X Grassroots movement, and the name Lumumba would mean nothing to the average Jacksonian. If this organization had never existed, Chokwe Antar would not be the current mayor of Jackson.

Research these organizations for yourself. Take an hour to listen to the Mayor's speeches, read the literature these organizations put out. You can hear what they believe straight from their mouths.

Anonymous said...

Off those nerve pills, No Justice?

Messick said...

No Justice = White Donner

Anonymous said...

ALL SO VERY SAD.

Anonymous said...

I'm still mulling over forgiving Antartica......

Anonymous said...

Maybe somebody needs to see where the money is going for libraries anyway! It isn’t going for books!


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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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