St. Francis Library decides not to decorate for the holidays, residents upset

It's the time of the year when homeowners and businesses decorate for the holidays.

But this year, the St. Francis Library decided not to. 

The library director said this decision was made earlier in the year because of limited staff, resources and to create a welcoming environment.

"...we felt it was important to move to seasonal decorations, rather than decorations that emphasize one cultural tradition. As our community becomes more diverse, we are working hard to be sensitive to that and to reflect that in our collection, programming, and environment," said Amy Krahn, St. Francis Public Library Director. 

The library did not decorate for other holidays including Easter and Halloween. 

Some residents said they had no idea this decision was made until a few weeks ago.

"Twenty-five years of tradition and all of a sudden nobody was aware that we were not going to have our Christmas event or decorations," said Rick Grubanowitch, former library board member.

At the last common council meeting, residents and a few aldermen spoke up.

"All the board members are excellent people but I do disagree we are not having the Christmas lights on the outside but there is nothing the city can do because under state statute they are independent," said Ken Tutaj, 3rd district. 

The library will continue to provide seasonal and holiday related resources and programming. For example, instead of the holiday party, there will be a luau on January 27th. 

Friends of the library will also be having a holiday used book sale this Saturday, December 9th. 

For more on St. Francis events and programming, click here.