From today’s Publisher’s Lunch:
Big Library Cuts in Philadelphia
As municipalities across the country face large gaps in their budget, Philadelphia is taking “drastic new steps” to face the “economic storm” that include closing 11 of the 54 branch libraries that comprise the Free Library of Philadelphia. Three other branches will have Sunday hours eliminated. Mayor Michael Nutter said the branches were chosen “after careful review of building conditions, utilization and distance to other libraries in the Free Library system.” Cutting 220 jobs throughout the city government, approximately one third of those layoffs will come from the library staff.
That fucking sucks for fucking hard I’m having a difficult time coming up with a response more nuanced and apt than: “Oh, FUCK that.”
I live in a suburb of Philly and I can’t find it in myself to be that angry about this. When the times are tough, tough decisions have to be made. And for those of you who think that the library was the first place they looked, they’re making cuts across the board in many areas, not just the library. They’re not closing every single branch or even a majority of them. They’re closing a small minority so that the majority can stay open and staffed. What would you rather they do?
I’m sure Mayor Nutter will get the budget under control and hopefully one day, those buildings will be able to open again.