Library Journal Mobile
Log In  |  Register          Free Newsletter Subscription
Subscribe to LJ Magazine

Minneapolis PL Closures Down to the Wire

-- Library Journal, 12/13/2006

Will the Minneapolis Public Library (MPL) close branches in 2007? Despite a budget boost voted Monday by the City Council, the library board faces a dilemma when it meets December 20, since the $1.2 million added is a one-time grant, funding service in 2007, and the board aims to budget on a three-year basis. The council's 7-6 vote capped months of hearings, public discussion, and angst about whether MPL would close any of its 15 branches. The board had earlier voted to close three branches and sell two to balance its budget. An outcry led Mayor R.T. Rybak to pledge some more money to libraries, and for the board to swap debt reduction—including foregone operating improvements—for operating cash.

After the mayor offered $1.1 million, in chunks of $850,000 and $250,000, the Council's Ways and Means agreed to make the smaller chunk permanent. Still, for MPL to maintain 20 hours a week service at the three libraries, it would need $105,000 more. MPL got it, but the council refused to let the library board to swap debt reduction for an operating budget increase. "The library board's policy has been to adopt a budget that's balanced for three years," MPL Director Kit Hadley told LJ. "The previous board made capital decisions that weren't sustainable." Without the debt swap, the library has to revise the 2007 budget and future budgets to subtract a hoped-for $925,000 in annual revenue.

Talkback

We would love your feedback!

Post a comment

» VIEW ALL TALKBACK THREADS

Related Content

Related Content

 

By This Author

There are no other articles written by this author.

Sponsored Links




 
Advertisement
Sponsored Links

MOST POPULAR PAGES

More Content

  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Photos

Blogs

  • Cheryl LaGuardia
    E-Views

    November 20, 2009
    Portable Libraries, Mobile Students
    I attended this excellent ACRL-NE Information Information Technology Interest Group (ITIG) Social pr...
    More
  • Cheryl LaGuardia
    E-Views

    November 20, 2009
    Parker Library on the Web
    Corpus Christi College (Cambridge) and Stanford University Libraries recently released t...
    More
  • » VIEW ALL BLOGS RSS

Photos

  • Design Institute 2007
    December 11, 2007 at Chicago's Harold Washington Library Center:Design Institute 2007
  • Learning Gardens
    New York's GreenBranches program links the library to the street.
  • Green Picks: LBD May 2007
    Want to reduce your library's carbon footprint? Join the Cradle-to-Cradle revolution. Helen Milling shares the green products her firm is using.
Advertisements





LJ NEWSLETTERS

Booksmack
LJXpress
LJ Academic Newswire
LJReview Alert
LJ Criticas Review Alert
SLJ Extra Helping
Curriculum Connections
SLJTeen
PWDaily
Children's Bookshelf
PW Comics Week
Cooking the Books
Religion BookLine
Please read our Privacy Policy
©2009 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Use of this Web site is subject to its Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
Please visit these other Reed Business sites