BUFFALO, N.Y. — Nakia Luper, a mother of three, has watched as the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood deteriorated around her. Stores closings. The Central Terminal crumbling.
And, in 2005, her neighborhood library shutting down.
“The kids used to go and have fun,” Luper said. There were “different activities going on at the library all the time. And then one day it was just gone.”
The closest library is now three miles away. Luper said it’s not safe for children to walk that distance through blighted neighborhoods to take out a library book.
Nearly two decades after funding for the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library was slashed — closing 15 branches — circulation at what’s left of the system is down by almost a third, visits have fallen by close to half, and the collection of books and other materials is down 15 percent. You can read the full story on Investigative Post's website.