Free Library of Philadelphia Closing 11 of 54 Branches

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 11/6/2008

• Libraries face 20% cut, will lose 111 staffers
• Core city services preserved, says Mayor
• New York to cut half a day of service

Eleven of 54 branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia will close and 111 positions will be lost in what Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter called “mid-year revision of epic proportions,” an effort to cut $100 million in the face of a billion-dollar budget gap over five years, caused by a “dramatic decline in tax collections and increased pension costs.”

The library faces a 20 percent cut, along with recreation and parks, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Nutter, who as a City Councilman earned Library Journal’s Politician of the Year award in 2005 along with fellow Councilman Frank DiCicco for protecting the library from cuts, defended his choices in an address today saying, “Painful program and service cuts are necessary, but I want to assure you that we've preserved our core services, minimized the impact on vulnerable populations and considered the long-term impact of our choices.” 

Cutting branches, keeping six-day service
He added, “After careful review of building conditions, utilization and distance to other libraries in the Free Library system, we'll close 11 libraries and eliminate Sunday hours at three regional libraries.” In a message to staff, library director Siobhan Reardon, noting that 85 percent of the budget goes to staff, said 111 positions will be cut, 40 through attrition and 71 through layoffs.  

"A system of 43 branches will allow us to continue six-day-a-week service, which has proven to be the best model to meet our customers’ needs and to serve thousands of school children," she wrote. "An across the board cut – reducing service to three days a week, for example – would weaken service in every neighborhood and stretch the staff to an unacceptable degree."

Nutter observed, “[B]ecause this recession may linger beyond next year, we can't look for brief, one-time changes.”

New York also hit
Other major cities are also feeling the squeeze. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced plans to cut city support of the three public library systems by 2.5% this year and 5% next year, thus reducing library service from six days to five-and-a-half days.