What library?

The Carnegie Library board of trustees has voted to close, move or merger 8 branches. [Read story]

Can these libraries be saved? Should they be saved? What's your opinion?

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The state is planning to ax funds to libraries.  The Carnegie and other libraries have been telling people this for months and months.  I sincerely doubt that whatever the City of Pittsburgh can come up with will cover the *giant* shortfall expected from the huge cut in state aid to libraries.  You cannot run a library without money.  They are still charged for sewer and electric and water and insurance and the cost of materials.  If you wanted the libraries open, you needed to be screaming at every State Senator and Representative you could contact.  (Hey, the budget isn't done yet!  I still recommend this!)

 The shutting of libraries is a disgrace.  Education and libraries should be the highest priorities for our city, region and the country.  If we can keep the Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates we should be able to find a way to save our libraries.

 At the very least, the library has a better record than the Pirates.

 Agreed. haha. But still, I think that this is shameful. In a world where the lack of education and illiteracy grow yearly, a "progressive" city like ours should see that by closing these libraries, they are just adding to the disillusioned, uneducated, and future-lacking youth of the rest of the country. Our city has Carnegie Mellon, for Pete's sake! We are supposed to be an educated city. It's a shame and I, personally, am trying to get my company and friends involved in trying to raise some money or something. Every little bit helps.

 Closing library's is just the beginning of what can be expected from  republicans and their "small government"  approach.

The library would have more sympathy from me if I believed they were better managers of the resources entrusted to them.  Their internal infrastructure is too big and expensive for the size organization they are, and when alternatives are readily available outside their system.  Why do they need and in-house IT Dept, or a PR Dept. with 5-6 staff?  This when their branches manage on 4 people.

My other question is why wasn't Sq. Hill considered for closure; it's less than 2 miles from the Oakland library on a set of direct bus lines?  Given the closeness of Homewood, Sq. Hill, and Oakland, why reopen East Liberty at all?  Why not keep the Lawrenceville Branch open and / or move it to Butler St?

Has there ever been an outside efficiency audit of the Carnegie?

Mark A.

It turns my stomach to see that of the 8 affected branches, only two are anywhere near the East End and a full five are on the south side of the city. Typical, typical, typical.

Mark A.,

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the only branches considered for closure were the "non-renovated" branches. In other words, peversely enough, the reason these neighborhoods were under consideration for neglect by the library system is because precisely because they had been neglected for so long by the library system!

So in addition to all the many unofficial reasons that the board would never, ever, ever! close the Squirrel Hill branch, the official reason is that they just spent God knows how much money to put up a monstrously large LED sign in the front window.

 When an organization allows management of a nonprofit to have at least a dozen people make well over +$100K/year, why give them any more funds.  Are leased vehicle and clothing budgets necessary for library directors?

One administrater's salary + perks = One branch's yearly budget

With all due respect to the previous poster, the issue is not republican or democrat.  It is that of trying to run a non-profit organization under a corporate model.    With this director, and the previous, neither of whom are librarians, the board has tried to force a governance structure that doesn't fit.  That is how you get decisions to close neighborhood branches, rather than examining the top heavy administrative structure.  With this vote, the library board has proven that they do not value library users, library staff or the communities they serve.

The City of Pittsburgh gives $40,000 annually to the Carnegie Library.  (No, there are no zeroes missing in that number.)  That is the amount agreed to in the 1895 agreement with Andrew Carnegie.  For that amount of money, the mayor has no small amount of nerve asking for an audit of the library's books. 

allablaze:

 Closing library's is just the beginning of what can be expected from  republicans and their "small government"  approach.

Riiiiigggghhhhttttttt, because the Republicans are in control around here. Do you even read what you write?

Soooooo, since you want to be all partisan, where's the STIMULUS cash that was supposed to save so many jobs? Oh that's right, unemployment has skyrockted since Obama and the dems blew more money in one spending spree than the entire Iraq war cost and hasn't done a thing to save or create (lol) any jobs.

I guess there aren't any union jobs in the library business.

http://ala.org/ala/research/initiatives/salarysurvey/SalarySummary2007.pdf

TRUE. Check average yearly director, deputy director, etc. salaries.

Also, if the system could raise $55million for the renovation of new buildings, why can't they raise the piddly 6 million over the next few years they keep citing as shortfall?

PrimeCut:

 When an organization allows management of a nonprofit to have at least a dozen people make well over +$100K/year, why give them any more funds.  Are leased vehicle and clothing budgets necessary for library directors?

One administrater's salary + perks = One branch's yearly budget

 

http://ala.org/ala/research/initiatives/salarysurvey/SalarySummary2007.pdf

TRUE. Check average yearly director, deputy director, etc. salaries.

Also, if the system could raise $55million for the renovation of new buildings, why can't they raise the piddly 6 million over the next few years they keep citing as shortfall?