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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD The members of the Mason Square Library Advisory Committee are continuing to keep the issue of a full-service library in Mason Square alive with a public forum on Sept. 28. Elizabeth Stevens, the spokesperson for the Advisory Committee, told Reminder Publications the event will be from 6:30 until 8 p.m. at the Sprague Cultural Arts Center at American International College. The agenda for the meeting will be centered on two questions to the public: how do residents feel about current library services and what improvements would they like to see. In 2003, the Springfield Museum Association sold the Mason Square branch library building to the Urban League stating the budget cuts calles for closure of the library, anyway. The Mason Square branch was the only library site in the city with an endowment from the late Annie G. Curran to help fund its operation. Questions quickly arose about the legality of the sale, especially after the city took control of the library system and instituted savings measures that prevented branches from being closed. Previous to the sale the city had obtained a $550,000 bond to pay for renovations to the branch. The Museum Association has not yet paid the city back for the bond. "We're all still paying for the renovation of a library we don't own any more," Stevens said. The Urban League has allowed the city to keep a small library in one part of the building. Stevens explained there are four lawsuits pending between the city and the Museum Association concerning library matters and one of them is about the sale of the branch. She said that Patrick Markey, the former city solicitor who is now the chair of the Library Commission, has told the Mason Square Library Advisory Committee the Museum Association is prepared to settle to the satisfaction of the city, all of the points of contention with the exception of the Mason Square branch. The suit would not remove the Urban League from the building, but seek compensation form the Museum Association for the sale of the building. A cash award could be used to build a new library, Stevens added. The endowment left to the city by Curran could be used to build a new library, but the terms of the endowment are specific in terms of where a library could be built. He said a suggestion has been made to explore putting a second floor on the building that would have room for both entities. She said that Mayor Charles Ryan has made the city's position clear to the Advisory Committee that nothing can be done until the lawsuit is settled; however, the city is committed to providing library services to the area. |