The Providence Public Library system, a private, nonprofit organization which serves nearly 75,000 registered borrowers, may be forced to alter its operating strategies for the coming year.
With an estimated budget deficit of $1.4 million, the library's staff and board of trustees have presented a proposal to the city that would close five of the library's nine neighborhood branches. But the proposal faces resistance from the Providence Community Library, a recently formed nonprofit seeking to take over all the neighborhood locations.
The library's board approved the proposal on Dec. 18, according to the PPL Web site.
The public library's proposal also calls for scaling back funding for the Central Library - the large, downtown branch on Empire Street - and converting the five closed branches to city- or community-owned "neighborhood learning centers." Such centers would maintain community activities, such as after-school programs, and the system would be willing to donate the buildings, content and support services, said Tonia Mason, director of marketing and communication for the PPL.
But "these buildings would not operate as library buildings," Mason said, "because we would not be able to staff them." At least 80 percent of operating costs go to staffing, she added.
The system's Olneyville, Wanskuck, Fox Point, Washington Park and Smith Hill branches are facing closings.
Mason said the library's proposal attempts to create a "sustainable" or "affordable" system.
"There have been continuing, growing gaps in the amount of funding we receive versus what we actually need to run the system," she said, adding that the library's board had agreed to fund this year's budget gap while the library continues its planning process with the city.
"This is an ongoing process from the library's perspective," Mason said. "The city called for this."
The library anticipates local government leaders to reach decisions about the library as soon as March, she added.
Possible choices for the city, Mason said, include postponing the deadline for taking action, deciding to fund the library's anticipated budget gap for next year or accepting the board's sustainable system proposal. She said the city could opt to incorporate the library system into a city department or even fund a third party to run the system.
The Providence Community Library, meanwhile, seeks to gain control of the library system's nine local branches, while allowing the PPL to maintain ownership of the Central Library.
In an opinion column in the Providence Journal this month, PCL President Marcus Mitchell criticized the library's sustainability plan. The plan to close the five neighborhood branches, he wrote, was "neither necessary nor acceptable."
Mitchell presented PCL's plans for budget adjustments - including hiring fewer administrators and engaging in more "robust" fundraising - and urged the city to "end its relationship" with the PPL.
City Council President Peter Mancini said council members plan to meet with Mayor David Cicilline '83 and other city officials to examine the proposals of both the PPL and the PCL. He said the meeting will likely be held next month.
The PCL's proposal to take over the nine neighborhood branches "sounds really good," Mancini said, but there are details of the plan - especially fundraising strategies - that must be examined before a decision is made. "We need to get together and see if we can make this work," he said.
It is "extremely important" to many of the city council members to ensure that the local branches stay open, Mancini said. Moreover, it is "not likely" that the city will take over the library branches, he added.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the PCL's online petition asking the city to transfer funds from the PPL to the PCL had more than 300 signatures. The PCL held a public forum Wednesday night at Knight Memorial Library on Elmwood Avenue.
The organization's next community meeting will be held at the South Providence Library on Feb. 3.
