You are looking at what the old Medford Library looks like. It was built in 1912--about the same time as a similar Carnegie library was built for folks in near-by Ashland.
All this book-love was thanks to a grant from steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, who was into building libraries all over the country either because he was just all altruistic...Or he wanted people to remember him for something more palpable than being a ruthless political kingmaker and, in July of 1892, the little business of having his chief subordinate (Henry Frick) send in a boatload of armed Pinkerton agents (thugs) to trigger a murder rampage to try and break a steel workers union at the US Steel /Homestead works near Pittsburgh.
Andy was off fishing in Scotland pretending that the headbashings and murders weren't happening.
But Carnegie wasn't all bad, I suppose. It's me who's the problem here. I'm just a slave to perspective. And, anyway, thanks for the libraries Mr. Andrew Carnegie. I used both of them --they served me well.
Now let's fast-forward 88 years or so...
What if citizens of Medford and Ashland and the immediate environs voted to spend 38 million bucks in 2000 to build brand new libraries for its citizens and then, before they got all of them built, they ran out of money to fund the staff and other expenses to keep the libraries open and so had to shut the pretty new buildings down? Couldn't happen you say?
Well, take a look at the cheerful greeting that residents of Jackson County, Oregon, receive when they currently go on-line to access the county public library system:
Warm and fuzzy, don't ya think?
Yes, incredulous fellow Americans, the library system is out of gas. This area was funding the library system--and a lot of the jaiils and sheriff patrols, et al, with money from the Federal Government--part of a deal whereby in the 1930's Washington, DC, took back the leases they gave the Oregon and California Railroad because the railroad company wasn't living up to their end of the deal for said leases.
In return the taxes that Jackson and several other counties in Oregon were collecting from the railroad were compensated for by direct payments from Washington. This year it was supposed to be twenty-three million, about half of which would go to the libraries and the rest to law enforcement and other services.
The system has hit a big snag.
(more later at this address)
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