Phoenixville Library - Isn't it time to get serious about the future?

Just last week I reported on the newest changes to the Phoenixville Library's expansion project.

Library employees were distributing pamphlets practically begging for support for their plan to close Second Avenue and build a grandiose addition which could ultimately cost far more than the projected $6.5 million dollars.

Today, in the following article from the Mercury, John Kelly, Executive Director of the library, states "...we will have no choice but to begin the slow and painful process of closing our doors unless there are increases in our streams of income..."

If the library cannot maintain it's hours or future existence due to a possible funding cut of $90,000, what will they do if Phoenixville Area School District decides to cut the district funding also?

They absolutely cannot come with hat in hand to the borough residents. The well of taxpayer monies is already drained by some members of Council with double digit increases in taxes every year due to budgetary increases along with wasteful spending, i.e., $125,000 annually for CDC's downtown district bling.

Poor planning decisions coupled with the dynamics of today's economy are easily recognizable in the flawed library plan but the damage to the reputation of the institution can still be reversed.

ONLY if the problems are addressed using linear thinking!

Begin with the following question. If the library cannot afford to keep the doors open now, how can it possibly expect to build ANY addition?

The logical answer is, they cannot build an addition at this time.

The next question should be along this order. What can we do to maintain our services and maintain our building if we lose a certain percentage of our funding?

If the library board were to come forward and ask, I mean sincerely ask, for help from the community in forming a community committee to identify the ways and means to keep the library operating at the current level, I believe the community will wholeheartedly respond.

Many ideas could surface from such a group, and asking for help is not an act of desperation. It would be an act of commonsense.

No one wants to see the library close it's doors.

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Budget cuts will affect Phoenixville library hours

Saturday, September 26, 2009

By Dennis J. Wright, dwright@pottsmerc.com

PHOENIXVILLE — The borough's public library, like most libraries in the state, is working to determine the effect of cuts proposed in the state budget which currently stand at 34 percent to 75 percent from the library subsidy and Access Pennsylvania dollars.

These cuts will result in the library cutting their hours of operation, including staying closed on Sundays.

Phoenixville Library Executive Director John Kelley said the cuts will cripple free access to information in the library.

"As you know by now, an overall state budget deal has been reached with a few exceptions," Kelley said. "Details about the funding levels for nearly all budget line items remain under wraps at this time. Should the library subsidy remain at the 34 percent cut and the Access Pennsylvania cut remain at 75 percent cut, this will be devastating for our community library.

"It will translate into a significant loss of funding for its day-to-day operations. The loss for Phoenixville's library could reach as high as $90,000.00 for 2010, depending on where the cuts come from and how steep the percent of loss is in the current budget deal."

Kelley said that the Phoenixville Library can ill afford any loss of funding.

"A loss of funding at these levels will mean a lot of things," he said. "For example, there would be less hours of service, fewer staff, less materials for homework help and supplementary materials supporting school curriculums, fewer materials for home schoolers, self development, job seekers, resume writing, and career development.

"There will be longer checkout lines and, overall, less programing for adults and children. In other words, we will have no choice but to begin the slow and painful process of closing our doors unless there are increases in our streams of income to help offset this loss of funding. There also needs to be a change in the mindset of many of our legislators in Harrisburg in order to reinstate these drastic cuts for libraries in 2011."

The Phoenixville Library, which usually opens on Sundays during the fall and winter seasons, will remain closed until the state situation is resolved.

"Starting this October, the library will be closed on Sundays year round," Kelley said. "While the board is sympathetic to this loss of hours, the reality is that as funding is reduced and not replaced, the library needs to make serious adjustments to its hours, programs and services to absorb those cuts."

After a successful summer of programs, Kelley said that it just showed how important the library is to the community.

"This past summer over 2 million books were read by our school children across the state during our statewide summer reading program," Kelley said. "The library saw record numbers of children with over 9,300 persons having attended our summer programs and our teens presented 1,645 book reviews, with our children logging over 240,000 minutes of reading time.

"Summer reading programs, as well as many other valuable library services, will end without sufficient state support. Public libraries are busier than ever, especially in this economic climate, serving families who are struggling to make ends meet. Libraries are the emergency room for the unemployed."

Last fiscal year, the Phoenixville Public Library circulated more than 271,000 items from their inventory, to which Kelley said is the third largest circulation in the Chester County Library System out of 18 libraries.

"There were more than 27,000 searches on our in-house computers, and these were just the ones we counted," he said. "There were more than 238,300 visits to the library."

Kelley said he is urging the community to call or write to their elected officials about the drastic cuts to libraries over the next year.

"It may encourage them to rethink their decision for 2011," he said. "You can find your elected representative by going to www.palibraries.org and click on 'call your legislator'."





http://www.pottstownmercury.com/articles/2009/09/26/news/srv0000006477046.txt