Cherrydale Branch Library

Serving North Arlington since 1922

Candidates Clancy and Zimmerman Discuss Cherrydale Library

On September 21, 2002, the Citizens for Cherrydale Library (CCL), through neighborhood volunteers Greg and Suzanne Embree, asked the candidates for County Board (Mike Clancy and Chris Zimmerman) three questions affecting the future of Cherrydale Library. The CCL asked each candidate the same three questions and asked that they respond by October 7. The CCL promised to post each candidate's answers on the Cherrydale Library web site and on the Cherrydale Neighborhood and Maywood Neighborhood list serves. We also promised to publish their answers in the pre-election edition of Sweet & Sour News, the newsletter of the Cherrydale Neighborhood Association, and to offer their answers to the Arlington Sun-Gazette. The candidates' answers follow.

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Mr. Clancy's Responses:

1. Do you support maintaining the current funding level of the Arlington County Department of Libraries?

I support maintaining and increasing the funding level of the Arlington Libraries as appropriate to maintain and expand the library's services and resources. As Maywood residents, my family and I have been frequent users of the Cherrydale library for years. My wife, Lynn, and I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy spending time with our children at Cherrydale Library. My three-year-old son (the youngest of four) became the newest Clancy patron of Cherrydale when he attended story time over this past year. I believe that the value of some community amenities cannot be measured by dollars and cents alone, but rather should be measured by the enhancement that they provide to the quality of life. Libraries, especially small branches like Cherrydale, fall squarely into this category.

2. What are your views on concentrating the County's library system in a smaller number of locations as opposed to maintaining the network of neighborhood libraries?

I oppose any attempt by the Board to concentrate the library system into fewer locations. I know from personal experience that much of the appeal of a neighborhood branch is its closeness to home and the ease with which a smaller collection can be used by certain segments of the population, such as senior citizens, children and teenagers. There is also a certain appeal in having a neighborhood librarian who knows you and your children. Thus, although there may possibly be certain economies to centralizing operations and eliminating smaller locations (which may not necessarily be accurate), I believe far too much would be lost. In short, I am a strong supporter of maintaining a network of neighborhood libraries. Specifically, in my view, the Cherrydale Library is an important element of the neighborhood.

3. As a member of the County Board, will you seek to close Cherrydale Library?

As a member of the County Board, I would oppose any attempt to close the Cherrydale Library. In fact, my family previously signed a petition in support of keeping the Cherrydale branch open and opposing closure. That petition was submitted to the Board when it was considering the closure issue.

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Mr. Zimmerman's Responses:

1. Do you support maintaining the current funding level of the Arlington County Department of Libraries?

I continue to support maintaining the current service level of the Department of Libraries. The Board continues to ask all departments of government to look for ways to deliver their services to the people of Arlington for less money and I expect the Library Department to be searching for responsible economies, too. However, I do not expect them to search in the areas of closing vibrant, neighborhood branch libraries. I do expect them to explore ways to make more information available to more citizens using all the new tools developing technology offers. Nothing, though, takes the place of discovering and reading books in a small, quiet neighborhood library.

2. What are your views on concentrating the County's library system in a smaller number of locations as opposed to maintaining the network of neighborhood libraries?

I also continue to believe that branch libraries are an important part of Arlington's quality of life. They play an important role in the daily life of neighborhoods by providing a welcoming place for both adults and children to learn and exchange ideas. Libraries bring key services to people close to where they live and continue to be one of the most universal of services local governments can provide to residents. The Board has made a clear commitment to branch libraries in our County. During discussion of the FY 99 budget in 1998 that commitment was reaffirmed. The option of closing one or more branches was thoroughly discussed, considered, and rejected by the Board. At the conclusion of the process, I made clear my view that this question should be regarded as settled, not just for that year, but for years to come. Therefore, I continue to consider it inappropriate for it to be raised in any way in the budget proposals put forward by the County Manager.

3. As a member of the County Board, will you seek to close Cherrydale Library?

I have faced this question many times during my tenure on the Board, and I have always maintained my strong opposition to the closing of Cherrydale and other branch libraries. I see no reason to change my view. In fact I support long-needed improvements for Cherrydale; it should be noted that in the CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) the County Board adopted this year, the Cherrydale Library is slated for maintenance and minor renovations in FY04 and FY05.



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This site is maintained by Citizens for Cherrydale Library, a group of citizen volunteers seeking since 1998 to promote and preserve our most important neighborhood institution. Contact us at suza1@comcast.net with any questions or comments.