Providence Central Library Loses City Funding
The Providence Public Library board approved May 21 an FY2010 operating budget for the Central Library that is devoid of any municipal support. PPL trustees announced the plan nearly a month after the 131-year-old nonprofit Providence Public Library ceded control of its nine branch libraries to the City of Providence, which in turn will hand over their management to the Providence Community Library July 1.
PPL’s $3.4-million budget will be supplemented by donations and state funding to support the Central Library’s longstanding role as Rhode Island’s Statewide Reference Resource Center. The result will be reduced public-service hours, a 10% pay cut for administrators, and the loss of some staff.
Upon giving up control of the branches, the PPL board was legally obligated to issue layoff notices to all 120 employees. The reconstituted PPL will retain almost 40 people in FY2010. PCL is expected to hire 65 of the remaining staffers, and aims to run the branches on a $4.8-million budget comprised of $3.4 million in city funds that were once appropriated to PPL, as well as grants and corporate sponsorship. PCL will lease seven branch buildings owned by PPL for $1 per year; additionally the PPL board is donating the branch collections and 260 computers to PCL.
The anticipated staffing levels of the two organizations will leave about 15 employees of the former PPL system without jobs. “This is a very lean budget necessitated by the current economic situation, and although we believe it supports Central’s core services, it also reflects some downsizing,” PPL Director Dale Thompson stated May 21, noting that “especially difficult is the reduction of staff.” The number of hours the Central Library will be open the public is slated to be reduced from the current 49 hours per week to 38, although statewide reference service will be offered 60 hours per week.
This major reorganization comes after several years of turmoil in the Providence library system. In 2004, the library laid off 21 employees, and a community group called for board reform. The reduction in force, followed by the threat of more, led PPL staff members to unionize in 2005. Later that year, public dissatisfaction with trustees’ decisions resulted in Providence citizens urging bylaws reform as a first step to a more accountable and open board.
In December 2008, the board’s vote to close five branches triggered community opposition that led directly to the forming of PCL to vie for control of the branches.
—Sean Fitzpatrick, American Libraries Online Posted on May 22, 2009.