After Budget Increase, Philadelphia Rescinds “Express Branch” Plan

-- Library Journal, 06/06/2005

After nearly six months of advocacy from library supporters in Philadelphia and a backlash from City Council, the council and Mayor John Street have agreed to allot some $3.5 million for the Free Library of Philadelphia, reversing the controversial plan to turn 20 of 49 branches into “express branches” open 20 hours a week without credentialed librarians. “It’s a big win,” said Amy Dougherty, president of the library’s Friends group. The $3.5 million represents about a ten percent increase in the library budget. That’s not enough to replace the 130 positions it lost in the last three years, but it will allow the library to hire about 70 people, most of them librarians.

Only ten of the 20 branches were immediately turned into “express branches,” as a union lawsuit blocked extension of the plan. When will the ten get full service? Library director Elliot Shelkrot said that the goal was October, given the time needed for hiring and training, but some would come sooner. “We have a lot of recruiting to do,” he said. Shelkrot praised the Friends group, the library union, and city council members for lobbying for the budget boost, acknowledging, “When 80 percent of the budget comes from the city, it’s important that I am regarded as part of the administration and not an opponent of the administration.”

As leverage to stop the branch cuts, some city council members had attempted to hold up $30 million for renovations and expansion of the central library; Shelkrot said he was optimistic the effort would be withdrawn.