What library?

 Let's not confuse the circumstances here. Do the libraries need a stronger source of dedicated funding? Yes.

But there are real, terrible issues festering with the administration. There is an IT director there who makes more than $122,000 per year and is essentially an incompetent who has driven away three of his best employees in the last 6 months. He is rewarded for his poor perfromance with continued employment.

When the latest director came to power cronyism reigned, and numerous new and enhanced positions were created for friends and associates. The normal working-still employees and managers have not had a raise since 2006. Their salaries are below that of the national average for libraries. As we've seen, administrative salaries are well above the national average.

The administration needs to be held to account in this process. If anything good comes from this, it will be that.

 Ravenstahl is *really* starting to outrage me.  He is questioning the salaries of the workers?  SERIOUSLY?  You mean the people that haven't gotten raises in years?  The librarians who spend tens of thousands on a masters degree only to make 30K a year without complaining?  THAT is your problem with their budget? 

He's looking for a scapegoat and he's not going to find one.  Sorry Lukey, the libraries have been talking cuts for over a year now.  Don't act like this is some big surprise.  Everyone knew this was coming and NOW you're outraged?  If that's not political posturing, I don't know what is.

 Warsaw wrote,

But there's NO NEED to close branches or lay off staff. The shortfall this year won't be that large, and there are still lots of things to do to change the funding situation.

I respectfully disagree with PART of your assessment. There is a need to close these branches, there has been a need for quite some time. As I stated in my previous post I suspect the library has wanted to close some branches but has refrained from it because of the anticipated public outcry. Now there is no alternative.

As I went over and read all of the posts there seems to be 2 separate issues here, the salaries of the upper management and the closing of the branches. Lets not confuse these, they are indeed separate. Let’s set aside the salaries for a moment. Even if the library system were sitting on a treasure of gold coins, the prudent thing to do would be still move forward on the closings. Even if the funding situation would change as you suggest, the money could be put to better use in other areas. You say the shortfall is not that great, but if you take the numbers from the current situation and extrapolate them forward, you will see this is a downward trend. Simply put, these branches are costing the system too much money, per person, to operate. It is a matter of economics. If one of these branches were a hardware store, or some other small private business, they would have been shut down and out of business long ago. If you are one of the people affected by a closing, I certainly understand your frustration. The ideal situation would be to have one large main library and significantly sized branches in each of the geographical areas, E,N,W,S however we know this isn't likely to happen. I will let the rest of you argue over the salaries and other issues regarding the library and how they spend money but the closing of these branches is a "NO BRAINER"!

Several quick comments:

1.  The regular staff of CLP are not paid at a level comparable with the director et al.  Also, comparing the director of CLP with the average director of a library is not very accurate, as CLP is one of the largest library systems in the country.  Directors making around $80k generally manage libraries with only a few branches.  I'm not a big fan of how much Dr. Mistick makes, but I do think people are underestimating the sheer size of the CLP system.  It's huge--more on par with Boston or NYPL than your average library system.  You don't expect the CEO of Microsoft to be making the same amount as the CEO of Uncle Charley's Sausages. ;)

2.  Branches cost a lot of money to run. 

3.  The state budget is three months late and is still expected to contain cuts of 30-70% to certain library programs and services, including the state-funded electronic databases that the schools and public use to do research and the money used to fund the transport of items between libraries via interlibrary loan.  (You didn't really want to do research anyways, did you?)  Those are the things you haven't even seen come into effect yet.  So you'll forgive me for my dubiousness when people say that "the shoftfall this year won't be that large," because I've seen my library's proposed budget, and I know exactly how much of a hit we've taken in this economy and with the projected loss of state aid.  We can't cut sewer, electric, gas, water, building insurance, or many other costs, but they certainly cut anything they could to the minimum, including staff compensation and the materials budget (materials being the books, CDs, DVDs, etc.).  And no, we aren't a part of CLP, but I imagine they're facing the same problems.

4.  In the six months that libraries have been telling people about the probable cuts to library services, very little has occurred to change the minds of legislators about cutting funding to library services.  Despite being busier than ever before due to the economy, libraries are taking more than their fair share of cuts in this budget.  And yet when people get upset about libraries taking steps to save money, they blame the libraries.  While I can understand the frustration (oh, trust me, I do!), please realize that we can only stretch a dollar so far, and you cannot maintain the same level of library services on drastically reduced funding.  It's not just a situation of raising some money so a few branches don't close--it's also raising the money not to lose those services, which is *millions* of dollars.

5.  The last I knew, some of the money listed as going to CLP by RAD actually is going to the Carnegie Regional Library District, which is not the Carnegie Library.  It is the District Library for the area--sort of a main library that handles certain tasks for all the libraries in the district, like the main interlibrary loan office.  It also apportions out that funding to other county-wide measures.  It's confusing because it also has the name Carnegie, but it's not CLP.  Remember that CLP is only one library system in the county, albeit the largest.  RAD is also supposed to be funding the other 40-something, too, even if it sometimes forgets that.  (In fact, I'd rather Ravenstahl didn't act like RAD was solely paid by the City of Pittsburgh, because it isn't, and frankly those of us outside the City have been paying more to support CLP *and* our local libraries through our taxes than those within the City.  $40,000 from the City of Pittsburgh is laughable.  Cough it up, Lukie.)

 Prudent????  You must live in Mt. Lebanon or Upper St. Clair.  Prudent for whom?  The money could be better put to use in other areas?  Beechview has taken a beating from people like you for too long...it will cost us MORE money to close this branch....just from the increase in crime, loitering, etc.  More people would be on unemployment, etc.  But let's forget the money for a moment.  The ideal situation is NOT to have a main branch and 4 branches....how would us hard, working-class folk get there with the lousy public transportation system we have, who also is cutting back?  How will our senior citizens and infirm get to a library miles away?  You probably belong to a book club, or better yet, buy your books at Barnes & Noble, ..give them to charity when you're done and think you've done a good deed.  You're the one without the brain....we need that library in Beechview! 

 Prudent????   Prudent for whom? 

Prudent for the City of Pittsburgh, CLP, the taxpayers,,, shall I go on?

just from the increase in crime, loitering, etc.  More people would be on unemployment, etc. 

So, you are saying that the library is the only thing holding your community together?

I would say you need to talk to your community leaders or get involved in some grass roots effort to save your neighborhood from the certain anarchy the absence of this branch will cause.

Look, I feel your frustration but using the store analogy, if I am the proprietor should I remain in a losing situation because you are a good steady customer? I say to you, I am closing, I am not making any money and you say, but I need this store, I shop here everyday, what about me?

These branches are no longer comical to operate, How can that be difficult to grasp? It is a numbers situation. plain and simple.  

how would us hard, working-class folk get there with the lousy public transportation system we have, who also is cutting back?  How will our senior citizens and infirm get to a library miles away? 

I agree with you on this, I suggested in a previous post that the Library look at alternatives to address this. Maybe a bookmobile stop or borrowing by mail.

we need that library in Beechview! 

Yes, you do need that library and so do all the other patrons that use it, but the needs of the greater whole, the CLP system at large is of greater importance

 You are right on!  We need our library in Lawrenceville, too.  Several times when the library faced budget issues, the Lawrenceville branch's hours were cut, resulting finally in the Library closing M-TH as early as 6:00 p.m. (when many people are just arriving home from work).  This branch has never been open at all on Fridays or Sundays - at least not during the 40+ years I've patronized it.  The cut in hours made it impossible for many people to use the library at all except on Saturday, then they say they have to close the library because it's not used enough by the people in Lawrenceville.  Reminds me of the time the Port Authority put in a great but short-lived bus route that ran from Millvale through Lawrenceville and Bloomfield to Shadyside but never advertised the route or put up bus stop signs - even the drivers were uncertain where the stops were and would pass you up.  Then PATsaid Lawrenceville residents didn't use the route and cancelled it! 

 CLP wouldn't be in this mess,if the city placed as much importance on its libraries as it does its sports teams.

eartotheground:

 Prudent????   Prudent for whom? 

...

Look, I feel your frustration but using the store analogy, if I am the proprietor should I remain in a losing situation because you are a good steady customer? I say to you, I am closing, I am not making any money and you say, but I need this store, I shop here everyday, what about me?

These branches are no longer comical to operate, How can that be difficult to grasp? It is a numbers situation. plain and simple.  

how would us hard, working-class folk get there with the lousy public transportation system we have, who also is cutting back?  How will our senior citizens and infirm get to a library miles away? 

I agree with you on this, I suggested in a previous post that the Library look at alternatives to address this. Maybe a bookmobile stop or borrowing by mail.

we need that library in Beechview! 

Yes, you do need that library and so do all the other patrons that use it, but the needs of the greater whole, the CLP system at large is of greater importance

IT'S NOT A BUSINESS, IT'S A NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY CENTER.You shouldn't be applying the same logic. But even if you get that simple about it (focusing on quantity issues versus quality of life/centrality of access to information for civic engagement, democracy/secondary benefits e.g. increased literacy, technology literacy, ...), the branches still are worth keeping in terms of the jobs they generate and the cost savings from functions they serve.

Bookmobiles are not safe spaces or meeting spaces. They can't hold the size collections that a library can. Etc., etc.

True, it is not a business but you HAVE to apply the same logic because it is all about economics! So, operate the branch at a loss, that is your solution. So be it then, you are entitled to your opinion. I will bow out of this debate and let the rest of you argue over it, but one thing is certain, the branches are going to close, done deal. Unless of course you can persuade Bill Gates to chip in a few Mil to keep them operating at a loss, and when that money runs out, then what?

The Library could purchase the book you want borrow from the publisher and mail it to you to keep for free and it would actually cost less than what they pay to allow you to walk in and borrow it.  The amount, per person, per book is exorbitant. I am very sorry for all of you affected by the closing, I only hope you can come to understand the reason why and get on board to help keep the whole CLP from sinking. God bless and good night.

 As for cost per person.  Hazelwood is one of the least costly locations to run.  I beleive it only costs a little over $3 per customer to provide, materials, computers and awesome sevices.  Plus it doesn't feel like a shopping mall you actually know the people behind the desk.  It's rediculous to take this library away from a commuity that needs it so desperately while leave other locations that are only a mile away from Main.

By the way, before I leave. I am not in favor of layoffs or reduced salaries, just common sense.  Closing these branches could conceivably SAVE library jobs

Hazelwood is one of the least costly locations to run.  I beleive it only costs a little over $3 per customer to provide, materials, computers and awesome sevices.

You honestly believe that. That office space that they rent, on a second floor above a store that sells beer to minors and is unsafe for the staff and the public, that location costs quite a penny each year. Granted the library is in a more centralized location then the previous building thats been in the neighborhood for 100 years, but the price thats paid isnt worth the effort to safe that location.

With all due respect, they are NOT community centers, they are libraries. Please do not confuse the two. In my opinion, this is the root of the misunderstanding. While strong communities need both libraries and community centers it is unreasonable to expect a library system and their staff to be totally responsible for that role -- that is the responsibility of each community and that of the City.

With no respect, the library in Beechview IS a community center as WELL as a library.  I am not confusing the two; the two have blended out of necessity.  Beechview has been DEVASTATED by Bernardo Katz, the URA, the illegal immigrants and the local politicians and community leaders who would rather engage in selfishness and infighting instead of doing what is RIGHT for Beechview.  There is no misunderstanding; it is VERY clear that CLP has mismanaged funds, and Luke Ravenstahl (who will NOT get my vote) is now only showing concern, perhaps too little, too late, because it is an election year.  NO ONE expects the Beecvhiew library to be TOTALLY responsible for community activities.  However, in the absence of true, unselfish community leadership, the Beechview library has stepped into that role that we need so badly.  You must be some rich old fart that lives in Mt. Lebanon.