My understanding is that the library addition will costs around $130 million of which $100 million has been raised. Some of that came from the city’s capital funds. Some came from the state and some came from foundations. And some has come from major donors.
But capital costs for the building are one thing. Paying the operating costs are another. I imagine that this high-tech library will be expensive to operate. Is that why library administration wants to get library operating costs down now? Is that why the library is taking a 20% hit when other agencies are taking no more than a 10% hit?
Don’t get me wrong. The central library addition looks like it will be wonderful. It is being designed by Moshe Safdie who is a brilliant civic architect. (His City of Quebec museum is a wonderful public space as well as a wonderful museum.)
But I’m not sure I’m ready to sacrifice branch libraries for a new central library. And I fear that this is what is going on right now.
It’s wonderful that our foundations are willing to kick in this money for a new jewel on the parkway. It is certainly wonderful for our new library director and our Mayor who will take credit for the new building will then use it to ride on to bigger and better things.
But wouldn’t it be nice if, instead of thinking about giving Philadelphia a world class library that will be used by a tiny fraction of our population, all these folks were thinking about some kid in Fishtown or Kingsessing or Oak Lane whose life might get turned around if one day, while trying to do his homework in a crowded library, she accidentally came across a book on some subject that was totally new to her and got so drawn into the book that it gave her a direction and a life?
PS I pointed out elsewhere thread that there is a legal mechanism by which Council can stop the branch closings. At the very least, if the legislation I’ve proposed to a few of your colleagues were introduced, we would have hearings on the library at which all the questions to the administration that have been posed here and elsewhere could be answered.
If you want details about the legislation, get in touch with me at MarcStier@stier.net.
As for the question central library vs branches, it is not those of us defending the branches who are pitting one against the other. My fear it is the library administration and Mayor Nutter who have made that decision.
I’m all in favor of using the city’s money to leverage private donations. But too often all that money goes to serve an elite in the city (and suburbs) not the majority of our citizens who have never been to either of the stadia or the Kimmel Center or the Museum and will not go to Barnes when it moves to the Parkway.