Libraries struggle to stay open in recession

Many libraries across the country are facing budget cuts, shorter hours and fewer books. One of the first libraries to escape the threat of permanent closure was the Philadelphia Free Library.

Upon hearing that the library was scheduled to close, Huffington Post writer, Kenneth C. Davis, was shocked. Mainly, he explained, because this was happening in “the city where Benjamin Franklin helped invent the public library in 1731.”

The Rockford Register Star in Illinois wrote of the potential closing as “a nightmare.” The article explained that if the closings — including that of the library as well as recreation and health centers — had gone into effect, nearly 3,000 workers would have been laid off.

According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is asking voters for a levy to keep all of their branches open and fully functioning. Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) opposes the levy which would tax homeowners nearly $30 a year.

While COAST suggested the library wait until next year to ask for a levy, 20 branches may have to close by December without it. The remaining branches will not have enough funds to get new books or stay open during regular hours.

The library is currently using gift funds to pay off bills, according to The Enquirer. The article explains that the library “hoped to spend a $300,000 gift on programs for kids. Instead it had to use it to pay the phone bill.”

Many other libraries are struggling to keep at least one branch open on Sundays, but this is difficult with budget cuts. Robin Diener, head of the DC Library Renaissance Project, told The Washington Post, however, that cutting Sundays in Washington, DC was “easy.”
 While Diener does say that Sundays are most popular for the public, she also explains, “It's difficult to staff because Sundays are not popular among employees.”

She hopes that those who wish to visit DC library branches can “do what they have to do” to visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, which will remain open on Sundays.

The central branch of the Philadelphia also remains open on Sundays while the rest of the libraries have a “tag team system,” according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The article explains, “neighborhood libraries will be paired with nearby branches, so that one will be open Monday through Friday and the other Tuesday-Saturday.” This way fewer libraries will be closed at the same time.

The Brooklyn Public Library doesn’t seem to have a problem with funding, however, as they plan to spend $2.7 million on renovations for their 103-year-old building at Sixth Avenue and Ninth Street, according to The Brooklyn Paper.

This does mean that their Park Slope branch will be closing for approximately two years, the article explains, but with plans to re-open with handicapped access as well as “new floors, an air conditioning upgrade, new lighting and new furniture.”