Curious

The cat’s out of the bag. Mayor Nutter plans to close 11 of the 54 Free Library branches in Philadelphia in order to save eight million dollars, a nip out of the city’s one billion dollar deficit. Granted, cities across America face similar deficits this winter. Oakland threatens to close parks. Phoenix plans to disable public transit lines. Nevertheless, Philadelphia and San Diego are the only cities (so far) to propose significant public library closures.

Citywide outcry dominates Philadelphia’s evening news broadcasts and local newspaper headlines. In our city public libraries play an important role in a city plagued by a failing school system and high crime rate. City officials claim that reducing the Free Library’s reach won’t be problematic since the library network was designed to serve an old Philadelphia, one that had a larger infrastructure. The criteria for deciding branch closures include public accessibility to nearby branches (within a two-mile radius), facility and neighborhood conditions, and usage. Thus, some of the oldest libraries will be the first to go, as they can’t expand their current facilities for future growth and are surrounded by deteriorating neighborhoods.

Yet city residents and educators refuse to give up the fight; they rush to sign petitions on street corners or create their own online. Every day this week I’ve either seen or heard broadcasts recording dozens of children, residents, and educators picketing outside threatened branches. What’s worse? I recognize almost a third of the fated branches, since we live in a working-class NE neighborhood. Between P. and I, we’ve used at least two of them.

Now, don’t get me wrong: having lived in this bulging city for six months, I assure you that I am as happy as the next guy that Philadelphia’s officials have chosen to cut spending in this crisis. Everyone knows that Philly has thrown caution-to-the-wind in celebratory fashion where the budget is concerned this summer (fanatic-behavior that I won’t deny was amazing to see/hear). Still, despite the fiscal crunch, I can’t help sharing a portion of the city’s desperation. I always find it sad when a library has to close its doors. Not only will kids have less easy access to tutoring sites and educational materials, but the budget cuts also affect public pools, ice rinks, parks, and youth anti-violence programs. Among other things the city budget fix:

• Reduces all overtime, including in the Philadelphia Police Department.
• Cuts200 unfilled police jobs
• Cuts five Philadelphia Fire Department engine companies and two ladder companies
• Closes 68 of the city’s 81 pools and three of five ice rinks
• Eliminates the Adolescent Violence Reduction Partnership
• Cuts Town Watch Integrated Services by 50 percent
• Cuts by half the increases proposed for the budgets of the Housing Trust Fund, the Community College of Philadelphia, and the Cultural Fund
• Eliminates limited residential street cleaning, snow removal on smaller streets and dedicated collections for tree leaves and tires

In a city with the working-class density of Philadelphia, that’s no laughing matter. At least after-school programs and youth centers remain in place. Ironically, local Philadelphians seem less phased by cuts to the city security/services than they are by library and pool closures. “What do you expect? There’s a reason we got the second worst crime in the country,” my co-worker murmured as news of the city council’s proposal lured us all to the breakroom television. “But closing libraries and pools? That’s bad. Your kids can’t walk two miles to a library. It’s not safe. They’ll have to take the bus.”

Addendum: Another city, Los Angelos, wants to slash public libraries. Protests, often both profane and misguided, continue. Still, I can’t help but melodramatically prophecy: other cities will follow suit. Sadness.