DEAR EDITOR:

I am among the group of concerned Poland residents who have been closely following the dialogue between the Mahoning County Public Library Board of Directors and its director as that group steers closer and closer toward abandoning the landmark library building in the center of Poland Village rather than shouldering the responsibility to make achievable repairs. Three thousand residents have signed a petition and many of the elected officials have voiced their support.

When the library director first addressed the scope of the building’s foundation problem at a community forum last year, she began her three-part proposal by stating first that an engineering consultant had deemed the problem to be fixable, placing a speculative price tag on it.

For those of us who deeply love this spectacular building, the discussion stops there. If it is fixable, then fix it!

However, the library director has chosen to formulate an argument contrary to the wishes of the village residents and to complicate the real matter by layering on other issues, including deferred maintenance and long-range ideas for new programming space. Those long-range dreams include all 16 of the county’s properties. They are not relevant to the more immediate problem in Poland. One would call this tactic “a straw dog.”

When Carlton Sears came to the Mahoning Valley from the Pacific Northwest to take over the reins as library director, he brought a new vision of what neighborhood branch libraries ought to be in the new millennia. At that time, some in the community balked at Sears’ proposal. Despite the naysayers, Sears proposed that our libraries ought not to be perceived as mere repositories for dusty volumes but rather handsome gathering places with cafes, balconies and patios for outdoor reading; structures flooded with natural light; original artwork; handmade furniture by local craftsmen; and busts of great thinkers and literary heroes to inspire us all in a setting central to the community. Back then, Sears and the board, along with a gifted local architect, did their due diligence by ensuring the county residents whose tax dollars fund all 16 locations, not just Poland, that we were indeed deserving of this grand new vision. Beyond the tax money from property owners, more than $1 million was donated by community philanthropists to pay for landscaping and special decor.

I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Sears — may he rest in peace. If only he were here now to help us safeguard the Poland building against the very authority who brought it to life.

Granted, times change, library directors come and go, and board members change, but many in this part of the county remain “sold” on the idea that originated with the library board a mere 25 years ago that THIS building is indeed special. That will never change.

I don’t just “love my library.” I am passionate!

W. RICK SCHILLING

Poland