Despite a notice from the city earlier this month that it would cancel the lease on the South Branch Library in August, fundraising group Evanston Public Library Friends will continue its efforts to raise $200,000 to keep the North and South Branch libraries open through March of next year.
The City Council originally decided to cut funding for the branch libraries in order to close a $9.5 million budget deficit, but it recently granted the library and its supporters six months to explore sustainable funding sources. In a notice issued earlier this month, however, the city announced it would cancel the lease for the South Branch Library, 949 Chicago Ave., on August 9.