News Release

04/20/2007
Library Trustees Review Options Presented to the City; Move Ahead with Contingency Plans

With only 10 weeks left until the end of the fiscal year, and facing deep concerns about services to patrons at the City’s municipal library branches, the Providence Public Library (PPL) is presenting options to the City that will enable branches to stay open and service to continue past June 30, 2007.

Among City options, incorporating branch library services as a City Department; or contracting with PPL for full funding of services at all branches (including reopening Washington Park).

PPL Trustees at their Board meeting Thursday, April 19, expressed concern that the one-year extension under which the City has been able to continue operating its branch system is almost up and, without any contractual agreement, the Library will be forced to issue layoff notices by the end of the month.

Trustees also encouraged concerned patrons to let City officials know about the urgency of the situation and to begin considering alternative models to keep libraries in their neighborhoods. Alternative models could empower concerned taxpayers and residents, giving them authority to make decisions about scope and level of services at the branches and decision-making authority on the spending of the City’s library appropriation.

Among the models discussed:

• Utilizing the people’s municipal library services board -- a separate 501c3 already in existence and waiting to be populated by concerned residents, library advocates, branch patrons and appointees of elected officials. This board could receive the City appropriation for municipal library services, and make decisions on how to allocate it across the branch system. PPL has already offered to donate to the new entity millions of dollars in assets, including books, materials and buildings.
• Creation of neighborhood library branches as separate entities with their own community-based governance boards that could receive funding from the City, donated books and materials from PPL, and contract with the Library for professional staffing.

At a separate meeting on April 19, the PPL Transition Team, which is working on contingency plans for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, approved financial models for three separate scenarios so the Library will be prepared depending on which option the City may choose. Those models include: the City fully funding its municipal library system through a contract with the PPL to provide services; the City only partially funding its municipal library system through a contract with PPL to provide scaled back services; or the City deciding not to provide municipal library services in any arrangement with PPL.

No matter how the City decides to proceed, PPL will continue to provide its nationally recognized urban library services. The Transition Team has studied an operating model for a stand alone Central Library and determined that the PPL can continue with a strong urban library at the main central facility and community programs with funding provided largely from private donations, grants, and the yearly earnings from the Library’s investments. Over the past six years, PPL has donated more than $20 million in library services to the City. City Library patrons will also continue to benefit from the statewide reference resource services provided at the Central Library.

“Regardless of what the City decides, PPL can continue to donate to the City of Providence and State users, free library services through the research and resource facility at Central, as well as community and literacy programs. PPL has a long tradition as the City’s oldest and most generous volunteer organization, in recent history contributing more than $3 million annually in community library services. We are committed to continuing this donation to the people of Providence. PPL is the City of Providence’s largest donor,” asserted Vice Chair William Simmons.

While the Library has offered to contract with the City to run the branch library system – it has also noted that by creating a City Library Department, the City could potentially save $1.2 million dollars in taxpayer funds. Currently, under a one-year extension to continue with the City’s Municipal Library System, the Library agreed to give the City up to $770,000 dollars to fill the gap between what it has allocated and the actual cost (approximately $4.5 million) of level services at all neighborhood branches. That extension expires on June 30, 2007; the Library continues to work with the City as it determines how to proceed.

If the City opts to create a Library Department which will assume management and operation of the Municipal Library System, the Transition Team will work with the City to make sure there is a smooth transition for patrons and employees. Chair of the Transition Team, Rob Taylor, instructed staff to begin working on the elements involved in transferring, leasing or selling the various buildings that currently house branch libraries. Taylor also asked staff to begin putting together a model for transfer of employees to the City, and donations of books and other community resources.

In the event the City decides not to work with PPL to provide its municipal library services, the Library would face sobering cutbacks, including up to 60 projected lay-offs.

The PPL Board will meet again on Thursday, April 26 at Noon and the Transition Team’s next meeting will be at 8 a.m. on Friday April 27, 2007. Both meetings are open to the public.