Spending too much on library renovations?

Is the Glendale Central Library really so blighted that it qualifies for millions of dollars in proposed redevelopment funds for a renovation that could, among other things, include the construction of up to two new entrances and other upgrades?

First of all, in no way is that lovely library in any way truly blighted (“With redevelopment money frozen, cities forced to tap into general fund,” Oct. 23).

At a time when there’s not sufficient operational funds to increase library hours, isn’t it a little unseemly for the city to be planning such an extravagantly expensive project?

Doing so could perhaps lead to the perception of Glendale’s greater Town Center area as having become a version of the major airlines’ “Hub and Spoke” model, one in which its downtown’s iconic civic facilities, including the Central Library, might become viewed as mere appendages around the rim of a sort of paseo to Brand Boulevard, and essentially the Americana at Brand.

Just imagine if the Library of Congress were to become seen as merely some sort of secondary subsidiary to the commercial area along Capitol Hill’s Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. What a travesty that would be.

Harvey Pearson

Los Feliz