Coalition to Save the Libraries

How Did They Do It? Audio interviews with 5 organizers from the Coalition to Save the Libraries on winning and the struggle ahead

2009-12-20T10:47:00.000-08:00

In the beginning of December, the Coalition to Save the Libraries celebrated its one-year anniversary. Sarah S. conducted interviews with five coalition members to create an audio piece telling part of the story of how the Coalition was successful in keeping all of Philadelphia's libraries open, and the work that has followed that initial victory.

Although all of the libraries are still open, budget cuts have resulted in random closures and an overall decrease in open hours in neighborhood branches. Like most other city services, the libraries will continue to face state and city budget cuts in the upcoming year.

Protest Against the DOOMSDAY BUDGET Thursday Sept. 17 inside City Hall

2009-09-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to listen to an audio recording from the protest.

STOP THE DOOMSDAY BUDGET!

2009-09-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

Join the Coalition to Save the Libraries, Acorn, District Council 47
(City Workers Union), Philadelphia Fight and other organizations this
THURSDAY Sept 17 at 9AM for a rally as City Council returns from summer
recess!

Thursday, 9 AM - Outside City Council Chambers (Room 400), City Hall!

STOP THE DOOMSDAY BUDGET!

Stop the Mayor from closing every neighborhood library, every
recreation center and two health centers, and laying off 3,000 city
workers (layoff notices go out this Friday!)

Instead of passively accepting Plan C, City Council must immediately
take responsibility for the city's economic security, and raise
revenue -- by rolling back recent cuts to the gross receipts tax and
wage tax -- that would remove Plan C from the table. Please Please
spread the word and come out to the rally.

Friday 9/18 Speak out / Open Mic / Peaceful Protest

2009-09-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

Steps of the main library. 5:30pm, grassroots open mic...join me and
others this Friday (9/18) for a Speak out/ Open Mic / Peaceful
protest. Steps of the Library Main Branch at 5:30. Bring signs. Bring
friends. Bring stories of how this has / will affect you. And this
isn't just about the library. Foster care funding, Elder Care, Aids
patient care, rec centers, jobs..

Save Our Libraries! Again.

2009-09-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

Save Our Libraries! Again.

Think Philly is in trouble now? Watch how much worse it gets if the libraries close down.

By Brendan Skwire
Philadelphia Weekly
Posted Sep. 13, 2009

Unless legislators take quick action, the Free Library of Philadelphia will close all of its branches in a few weeks.

Well, it looks like the libraries, once again, are on the chopping block. And this time, it's ALL OF THEM.

Honestly, do we have to go through this exercise again? Let me be blunt and brief: libraries are more than just places to borrow a book or a DVD. They are a crucial part of the fabric of our community. They provide Internet access for low-income individuals and families, including access to help-wanted ads and online job applications. They provide free space for after-school programs for kids and community classes for adults struggling to earn their GED or learn English.

And they provide books. Remember them?

People who use Philadelphia's libraries are suffering right now: I know of several English as a Second Language (ESL) classes held at branches of the Free Library that have already been canceled due to shorter hours, disrupting the lives of immigrants trying to achieve citizenship -- and putting adult education teachers, already poorly paid, out of work.

Here's another reason the libraries are so important: Philadelphia is home to an astonishing number of poorly-educated adults: about 400,000 of our neighbors don't hold a high school diploma and 22 percent of the 1.1 million adults who live here don't even have basic literacy skills: that's around 250,000 people who can't make it through a comic book.

Before you go pointing your finger and crying "Tough luck for them," think about the impact. If you can't read or do basic math, you can't get a good job. If you can't get a good job, you don't earn as much. You don't earn as much, you can't contribute as much revenue to the economy and tax base. Heck, maybe you can't get a job at all, so you have to get welfare, which everyone pays for. Or maybe you start selling drugs (and I'm not talking about pot, which should be legal), which brings crime to your community and drives down your neighbors' property values. And hey, maybe you get arrested and now everyone has to pay for your three-hots-and-a-cot.

What's more, kids tend to emulate their parents. Low literacy and low educational achievement is handed down from one generation to the next, a vicious circle that has no benefit to anyone.

You wanna complain about taxes? Check this recent analysis from the Philadelphia Youth Network (PDF):

High school dropouts in Philadelphia city made a combined tax payment (including federal and state income taxes, Philadelphia city wage tax, social security payroll taxes, federal government retirement contributions, local property taxes, and state sales taxes) of just $4,250, which represents less than 40 percent of the mean combined tax payment of all adult residents of the city ($10,320). The mean combined tax payment among high school graduates was $9,320 or nearly 2.2 times higher than the amount paid by high school dropouts. Philadelphians with a bachelor’s or a higher college degree paid an average of $17,180 in tax payments.

But hey, we can't afford the libraries.

By the way, this says nothing about how the city's embarrassing low literacy rates affect us on a macro basis either. Let's say you're the president of some big corporation and you want to relocate. Besides tax rates and other expenses, one thing you're looking for is a skilled workforce. So where do you want to set up shop? (PDF) Boston, where in 2006 about 40 percent of residents had a bachelors degree; Stamford,Conn., where more than 42 percent of residents graduated from college; or Philly, where only 31 percent did?

Or what about the city's immigrants, whose numbers skyrocketed over the past couple of decades? According to the 2005 American Community Survey, 24 percent of Philadelphia’s immigrant population -- about 83,000 individuals -- live below the poverty line. Fully 150,000 working-age immigrant adults have limited proficiency in English, including 55,000 Spanish speakers and an astonishing 51,000 of immigrants from Asia. The National Institute for Literacy reports that of those families that speak Spanish in the home, more than 32 percent either have poor English skills or don’t speak the language at all. Now apply all that stuff above about the costs of unemployment and tax receipts to a population that relies on places like libraries for language instruction.

Here, I'll make it easy: according to a study done by the U.S. Department of Education, those in the lowest literacy levels were less likely to be employed, worked fewer hours in a week, and earned lower wages than those with higher literacy proficiency. In Philadelphia, this problem is compounded by the loss of manufacturing jobs, and the increase in service, medical, and technical jobs, all of which have made fluency in the English language more important than ever in obtaining and maintaining employment.

The geniuses in the Pennsylvania Legislature and in our own damn city administration may say "Well, we can't afford those libraries anymore," when the fact is we can't afford NOT to have them.

It's a flaming disgrace, and there is no shortage of bad actors to blame, from City Council for underfunding the pension plan, to the mayor who, according to community activist and former candidate for council Marc Stier, "only very haltingly and at the end of the process, tried to engage the public in fighting along side him for the city," to (who else) the batshit crazy Republicans in the State Senate who have this unholy fetish with robbing unionized workers of their right to bargain collectively, and who delayed and delayed and delayed and delayed and delayed some more before choosing what has been aptly described as "budget terrorism and blackmail."

Enough already. Enough. Layoff notices go out in just a couple of weeks, and it's not just "going to be a disaster for the city of Philadelphia" if the Senate fails to pass the budget, but a disaster for the entire state.

The Daily News and Inquirer keep reporting that a deal is near, but I am less sanguine. So as usual, I encourage you to call your legislators in Harrisburg: you can find your senator here and your representative here. Tell them to save our libraries.

Dom Pileggi Holds Philly Hostage

2009-08-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

The state majority leader uses one hand to strangle city services -- while the other hand is in our pockets.

By Brendan Skwire

Aug. 20, 2009

Dear Sen. Pileggi:

I can call you Dom, right? Even as state senate majority leader, you're still a public servant, answerable to me and everyone else in Pennsylvania, so I don't mind being a little informal with the help.

Thanks to your intransigence and obstruction holding up both the state and the city's budget in the Pennsylvania State Senatet, nonprofits are running out of money, the city's cutting jobs and delaying police training, and counties from east to west are owed money. All because you missed YOUR deadline: and now everyone has to suffer because you're in a pissing match with the governor?

And it's not like anyone's gonna break even once the impasse is over: a number of human services providers are forced to take out loans to bridge the gap and there will be interest to pay. I thought you Republicans and conservatives were good with money?

It's no different here in Philadelphia, Dom. On Thursday, Mayor Nutter submitted his "Plan C" budget to the City Council. Effective September 1, we're facing "doomsday" cuts --hundreds of cops laid off, fire engines idled, all rec centers closed, trash left to rot in the streets-- because of your inaction. We sent you our budget in May and you're only now getting around to it? Mayor Nutter already cut $20 million, two months worth of revenue, because of your delays.

To read the rest of the article, click here:

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/brendan-calling/Dominic-Pileggi-Holds-Philly-Hostage-53819312.html

Free Speech Radio News story about pool protest

2009-08-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Philadelphia community groups protest closure of swimming pools
Andalusia Knoll
Fri, 08/07

To listen, click here: http://www.fsrn.org/audio/philadelphia-community-groups-protest-closure-swimming-pools/5187

With temperatures reaching the high 80s, Philadelphia’s pools are a popular destination for the city’s youth and adults alike. However, Mayor Michael Nutter’s budget decisions have delayed people’s swimming plans in 27 neighborhoods across the city, where pools are closed for the year. Residents from these neighborhoods, along with a broad coalition of community activists, are demanding that the city open all of the closed pools. FSRN’s Andalusia Knoll has more from Philadelphia.

All for the Taking blog on the movement to save the pools

2009-07-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

Not On the Backs of Our Children: Residents demand Mayor Nutter to "turn on the tap"

by Dana Barnett
Tue, 07/14/2009
From allforthetaking.org

On Tuesday July 14th nearly a hundred people gathered outside of Philadelphia City Hall, standing behind an empty kiddie pool bound in paper chains, to protest the closure of several public pools...

...with signs reading "Pools for the People", and "From the Libraries to the Pools, People Power Rules". Residents from several neighborhoods that have suffered pool closings including, Mantua, Fishtown, Stinger Square, Chew, and representatives of advocacy groups such as PUP, Acorn, ACT UP, and the youth led nonprofit Mantua Cares, were brought together by the continued organizing efforts of the Coalition to Save the Libraries and the Coalition for Essential Services. Both citywide coalitions have become leading forces of mobilizing and raising the voices of the many people in Philadelphia who are feeling the budget cuts.

Under the banner of: Don't Balance the Budget on our Backs, people gave speeches about pool, library, hospital closures, as well as connecting these issues to the larger systemic conditions of racism and economic oppression. Some held signs saying "closing our pools will 'change the complexion of the city' relating the matter of closing pools in poor communities to the overt racism of recent incident at Valley Swim Club. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allison-kilkenny/philadelphia-private-swim...

About 50 youth, teenagers, and adults filed slowly through the security procedures of city hall and up to the 2nd floor, with inner tubes, floaties, and signs in tow. The crowd assembled in front of the office of the Mayor, kids in front, megaphone in hand, and demanded a meeting. As they waited over a half hour for an impromptu meeting with a city official residents like 13-year-old Marcus Burbage from Chew pool in south Philly led the group in chants such as "keep philly cool, save our pool" and "Pools keep us safe, this is a disgrace."

Samatha Mackin a youth from Fishtown expressed the sentiment of the group when she said "I feel upset that they think that their paychecks are more important than us." The hot, jam packed group cheered as Katrina Clark, a teacher from Mantua who was a key organizer in the fight to keep libraries open, encouraged the youth that were there saying "People are going to try to take things from you all your lives, but you have to stand up. I know it's hard and there is alot that you would rather be doing, but I want you to know that what the Mayor is doing is wrong and you are on the side of justice." Meanwhile the exasperated city hall police kept asserting their power by reminding rambunctious group to clear a line for the hallway.â€¨

The protest almost became an occupation when it was announced that the Mayor would not be meeting with the group. When told that they would be meeting with the Clarence D. Armbrister, the Mayor's Chief of Staff, a chant of "we want the Mayor" erupted from the crowd. Protesters threatened to stay until the Mayor appeared, but were eventually appeased when told that the mayor was in Harrisburg. "He snuck out the back door to Harrisburg," Irene Russel of Stinger Square declared.

As Armbrister tried to quiet the crowd by saying that the Mayor does care about pools and that he thought community members would be celebrating the work that the Mayor had done to keep more than the originally announced 10 public pools open. Armbrister insisted that the condition of the budget was not their fault and that they were doing "the best they could" to "balance the interests of children and safety." One after another residents tried to explain that the reason why they were in city hall was not about the abstract process of balancing budgets, it was about real lives of youth and real disastrous effects on the safety and vitality of neighborhoods.

In response to Armbrister's pleas for understanding at the difficulty of balancing the budget, community members asserted that they have suggestions and need to be included in the budgeting process. They made it explicitly clear that cutting money to public resources in neighborhoods which are already under funded was not an option.

Connections were made by the protesters between pools and other cuts to neighborhood resources. The protesters spoke to the ongoing assault on their communities presently and historically in budget after budget. One resident reminded the Chief of Staff of the attempted closure of the 11 neighborhood branch libraries in December of 2008. When the representative responded "but the libraries are open" the crowd was unified in retorting that libraries were indeed open "only because we fought for them." It was clear to the city residents that if they do not fight for their children, families, and neighbors city hall was not going to look out for them.

A woman in the crowd tried to make the numbers into people when she asked Armbrister to explain to her two-year-old granddaughter why her neighborhood pool was not open. While the city officials attempt to illicit sympathy for difficult numbers, community residents continue to show that what is actually being crunched with budget cuts are people and neighborhoods and that they will not accept cuts to public resources as a solution!

(Photos by Pat Grugen and Rev. Jesse Brown)

click for full image

2009-07-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

NEIGHBORHOODS RALLY AT CITY HALL TO DEMAND THAT MAYOR NUTTER ‘TURN ON THE TAP’!

DAY CAMPS FACE DISCRIMINATION AS THE CITY LOCKS THEM OUT OF LOCAL POOLS

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Over 100 Philadelphia residents converged on City Hall today, joined by over 10 other city organizations and labor unions, to demand restoration of 1.1 million dollars in funding to open all of the city’s 27 closed public swimming pools.

The closed pools, which serve over 500,000 residents, also provided hundreds of summer jobs for adolescents and served thousands of Philadelphia summer campers, who have had their programming canceled as pools and libraries receive cuts in funding.

“We are here today to demand that Mayor Nutter turn on the tap and restore the 1.1 million dollars taken from pools in our communities!” said Martha Jones-Smithey, a local leader and rally organizer from the Fairhill neighborhood.

Just last week the Creative Steps Day Camp was discriminated against by the Huntingdon Valley Pool + Club after their local swimming pool was closed by budget cuts.

“The discrimination faced by Creative Steps was just a more explicit version of the racism the campers faced when they were locked out of their neighborhood pool,” said Eric Braxton, an organizer with the Coalition to Save the Libraries.

In the weeks leading up to the rally, public outrage at pool closings has lead to five neighborhood demonstrations in the threatened communities of Grays Ferry (Stinger Pool), Point Breeze (Chew Pool), Girard Estate (Marion Anderson Pool), Fairhill (12^th+ Cambria Pool), and East Germantown (Lonnie Young Pool).

Many neighborhoods have felt the consequences of pool closings as youth violence spikes during the summer months and children are forced to make dangerous trips to swim in other areas.

“These pools are vital to our neighborhoods. They keep our kids safe. They provide jobs for young people. They bring our families together. That’s why we’re here – to fight for our community!” said Nadine Rykard, a resident and leader from Grays Ferry.

CONTACT: Zachary Hershman at avrakedabra@gmail.com for more info + list of participant organizations.

2009-07-13T10:23:00.001-07:00

Inquirer article, June 27: Under summer heat, some pools remain shuttered

2009-07-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

Under summer heat, some pools remain shuttered

By Kia Gregory

Inquirer Staff Writer

On hazy, sun-soaked afternoons last summer, Andrew Christman, 35, regularly took his young son, Jozef, to the Fishtown neighborhood pool to splash in his water wings. But, because of city budget cuts, that recreation center pool is now closed. So is the Hancock pool, also a few blocks away. And so is the Cione pool, roughly a mile from his home.

read the rest at

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/49328362.html

Spirit Community Newspapers article June 24

2009-07-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

Fishtown, Cione, Hancock and Northern Liberties Pools are closed for the summer!
24.JUN.09

Is there any method to the madness? How did the City decide which pools to open and which to keep closed? In some districts, all or nearly all of the pools are being reopened and in some, not even half of them will be opened this summer. District 6 (Lower NE-Northern Liberties, Fishtown and part of North Phila.) falls into the latter category with only 5 of their 14 pools reopening....

read the article here

Star article, June 18: A 'Splash' in the bucket

2009-07-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

Thu, June 18, 2009

A 'Splash' in the bucket

by Hayden Mitman

Ask people who have grown up in Fishtown about their memories of summertime, and a common response might be the sight of an open fire hydrant spewing water into the street and the smiling faces of their young friends running through the spray.

It's a summertime memory of a bygone era but, thanks to Philadelphia's budget crunch, residents might see the sight returning to neighborhood streets.

That's because when Mayor Michael Nutter announced the results of the "Splash and Summer Fund" earlier this month, Fishtown's community pool wasn't on the list.

Read the rest at http://www.philly.com/community/pa/philadelphia/star/48526622.html

Philadelphia Weekly on Swimming Pool Closings

2009-06-28T15:22:00.000-07:00

The Dead Pool
by Brendan Skwire
Does the closure of more than two dozen Philly pools presage a violent summer in the city?

Read this great Philly Weekly article at:
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/Pools-money-48729067.html

Here is just a snippet from the article:

...And what do you think will happen when kids in the 19125 zip code, who have lost ALL of their pools, go wandering into other neighborhoods seeking a cool dip? Does anyone in the city want to have a repeat of 2006?

And the crazy thing is, the city agrees there will be turf wars as a result of pool closings. Their solution? More cops in the affected neighborhoods!

June 14th Rally at LOVE Park for Programs Not Prisons!

2009-06-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

Photos by Reverend Jesse Brown

This is a rally against State Bill 850, which will

1. Eliminate Funding for Violence Prevention
2. Decrease Funding for the customized job training bt 50%
3. Decrease 50% of Funding for Early Childhood Programs (Head Start and Pre-K Counts)
4. Eliminate Funding for the Family Savings Account Program, Self Employment Assistance Program, and completely Elimainate the PA Community Development Bank.

Sponsoring Organizations include:

Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition (GPUAC), BluePrint for a Safer Philadelphia, Nu Sigma Youth Services, Philadelphia Anti-Drug?Anti-Violence Network (PAAN), Youth Outreach Adolescent Community Awareness Program (YOACAP), MEE Productions, the Offfice of State Rep. Dwight Evans, the Office of State Rep. Kenyatta Johnson and the Office of State Senator Anthony Williams

Rally to Save Stinger Pool!

2009-06-16T15:05:00.000-07:00

Nadine (above, speaking) from the Greys Ferry community organized this June 16th protest to save the neighborhood pool at 32nd and Reed.

Rally for Chew Pool

2009-06-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

Betty Beauford (above) organized this June 8 rally to protest the closing of the Chew Pool, at 19th & Ellsworth

May 21 Press Conference inside City Hall as the "Rich People's Budget" is passed

2009-05-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

30 LEADING PHILADELPHIA ORGANIZATIONS REJECT THE BUDGET AT PRESS CONFERENCE

2009-05-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

COALITION FOR ESSENTIAL SERVICES MEDIA ALERT: 5-21-09.

In his March budget address, the Mayor promised to deliver a “Peoples’ Budget.” Instead, he is giving us a “Rich People’s Budget” in which working people pay more and get less. With the Mayor’s sales tax increase, poor taxpayers pay nine times more than the wealthiest Philadelphians.

Contrary to the statements put out by City Hall, the proposed budget includes major cuts to many essential services. CES representatives will speak on how cuts to pools, libraries, summer camps, health centers, youth education and violence prevention programs will hurt our most vulnerable neighborhoods.

If the state does not approve the sales tax, even more services will face the axe, and poor people in Philadelphia will face an even heavier burden.

The Coalition For Essential Services is composed of over 30 community-based advocacy organizations and labor unions in Philadelphia including the Coalition To Save the Libraries, Asian Americans United, AFSCME District Council 47, Fire Fighters Union Local 22, and the Vote for Homes! Coalition.

Eleanor Childs (Durham branch) testimony at City Council May 9 (transcript)

2009-05-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

MS. CHILDS: Good morning to President Verna and to the rest of the 23 Councilpeople and their representatives that are in the room today. We're glad that you're here. My name is Eleanor Childs. I'm here representing myself. I'm a citizen of Philadelphia. I'm also representing my school, Montessori Genesis II, which is a non-profit, small, private, independent school in the Mantua community. I'm representing the Coalition to Save the Libraries and I'm representing the Durham branch of the Free Libraries.

(Applause.)

MS. CHILDS: First of all, let me just thank the Council, because the last time I was here, I was with 50 people. It was my whole school, 16 three-year-olds all the way up to the 17 ten-year-olds, all of my staff, and we 18 were sitting in the gallery and we were so happy and felt so blessed that the Council voted on that day a resolution to put off the closing of the libraries until there was time to further discuss the issue and how it could be taken care of. And so we stood. We gave you our applause. We were very proud of you, and I wanted to thank you personally today.

During the interim between that time and now, that same school, along with schools, children, teenagers, adults, seniors of all races and creeds, those of us who are pierced and those of us who are tattooed and those of us who are not, those of us who are artistic, those of us who are number crunchers, I mean, throughout this city there was a ground swell of interest and concern about the closing of the libraries. People rose up. We had our pitchforks. We were rebels, we were rousers, and we fought to keep the libraries open, and we were very pleased that Judge Fox stood with us and the libraries were kept open.

Since that time, many people have felt that, Oh, thank goodness, the libraries are safe, but, in fact, we know that libraries are more than buildings, and so to say that we're going to keep those buildings open is not adequate unless we are going to give the resources both in people, in skills, in material. Unless those resources are going to be there, then those libraries are in fact not there. They are in fact, or de facto, closed.

And so we are here today, I am here today to say that my Durham Library is in jeopardy. We worry about whether or not our doors are going to be open. We worry about whether we are going to have enough staff people to do all of the myriad of jobs that they do. We worry about whether or not there will be those resources for the people of the Mantua community and the Powelton Village community, who together make up the community of the Durham branch of the Free Library.

There are so many uses that that library facilitate, and as I'm sure most of you know by now, because there have been just an uncountable number of articles that have been written in our major media as well as our minor media, the libraries are fulfilling a need at this point in time that we don't know whether they were ever meant to fill. They were always meant to offer the freedom of information, the ability to educate one's self, the ability to just enjoy the word. They were always meant to do those things, and as we know, they are a time-tested, cost-effective successful way of doing all of those things.
We don't have to have a special hearing to prove that. We don't have to have blue ribbon commissions to prove that. That's a known quantity.

But what they are doing at this point is making it possible for the citizens of Philadelphia, the citizens of the United States to find jobs, to follow up on the procedures for getting a job, to even hear back from an employee whether or not they got the job.

What the libraries are doing now is that they are offering not only a safe haven for children, but a respite place for adults who are under tremendous stress and strain during this very time of economic downturn, that they need a place where they can feel safe, where -- I'm talking about the adults -- where they can feel safe, where they can feel that someone cares about them and someone will help them to work through all of the things that they need to do to take care of themselves and to take care of their families.

Many librarians are at this point saying that they are becoming stressed because so much of this job is falling on their shoulders. This is not the time to pull back from the libraries. This is not the time to cut their resources. This is the time to say thank you, thank you that someone has been smart enough to create an entity like a public library that was flexible enough to move into this area of help and support for all of our citizens.

So I'm here today to ask you, number one, to be aware that when 20 percent was cut from the Durham Library and ten other branch libraries, it was in a way a decimation of our libraries, and that I would wish that you would put that 20 percent back.

I'm also here –

(Applause.)

MS. CHILDS: -- today to say there is absolutely no way that you can take anything else out of the libraries. It is not going to work to have my Durham Library buddy up with another library, be open three days a week and then the staff run back and forth between libraries. That's not going to work.

(Applause.)

MS. CHILDS: That is not going to work. We need our library to be safe. We need our library to be secure. And I mean the library itself. We need the staff, the professional librarians, the materials, the books, all of the other resources that a library has. We need those things to be in there and functioning at the best of levels.

One of my students, he's six years old, he's in the first grade. He is a mischievous little boy and gets in a lot of trouble. So sometimes when I see him, I have jaundiced eyes and I don't know what I'm going to be facing that day. But early last week, he came into school. He had a handful of money. This is it, $2.50, one dollar bill and lots of change, and he handed it to me and he said, Ms. Childs, I want to give this to the libraries to keep them open. So I was asked today by Channel 10, Oh, well, isn't that a good way for maybe the libraries to stay open, if everybody gives money. Well, I would like every child in the City of Philadelphia to bring a penny or a dime, but we know that all that would really do would be a practice in allowing children to learn that they can stand up for things that they believed in and that they in fact could contribute, but when it comes down to the true funding of our libraries and our other essential services, it has to be us, the adults, who make the decision of where to place those finances in order to have those services available to all of our citizens.

Thank you.

(Applause.)

Andrew Christman (Fishtown branch) Testimony at City Council May 9 (transcript)

2009-05-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

MR. CHRISTMAN: Hello. My name is Andrew Christman. I'm an artist, teacher and parent and voter from Fishtown Philadelphia, and in the interest of being brief, I'm just going to read a short statement.

The Fishtown branch of the Free Library serves a community that has been hit especially hard by the latest cutbacks of essential services in our city. For example, we have lost a fire engine and two neighborhood pools. Additionally, the Northeastern Hospital in nearby Port Richmond is slated for closure in June.

Amidst these devastating and demoralizing closures, our library is a beacon of hope for my neighbors and I. We will be depending upon our library as a resource for job searches and research about health issues. Children and adults will be looking for engaging programming and a cool place to spend the day in the absence of pools. Parents will be going to the library with their children to participate in book clubs and to take out books.

Nevertheless, our library is already very strained due to underfunding, rolling closures and understaffing. For example, programs for our story hour have been halted due to the uncertainty of budgets and schedules for service. In recent car drives, young families who have recently arrived at Fishtown have been our largest groups to sign up for cards at our branch. However, lack of materials, programs and inconsistent hours may deter them from becoming active library users. We have several very dedicated high school students who volunteer at our branch because they have chosen our library as the place to make a positive contribution to their community. Not only are they helpful to our staff, but they are role models for the smaller children who come to our libraries daily. It is our concern that their participation in the Fishtown branch will dwindle as disrupted services provides fewer opportunities for them to be there.

Twenty percent of Fishtown families live below the poverty level. This was a statistic generated by a census before this economic catastrophe. I can say with certainly based on my experiences at the Fishtown branch that many of our library patrons are folks in need of the strained resources in our branch. Our amazing and dedicated library staff is always working tirelessly to attend the needs of everyone at this increase -- and this is an increasingly difficult task when their attentions are being divided between other branches for assignments and also they're struggling to make the best they can do with the resources there.

It appears ironic to Fishtowners that despite the efforts of the City to support the construction of new condominiums and casinos and local economic development groups' efforts to make Girard Avenue and Frankford Avenue corridors for the arts, there is money being taken away from essential services which are assets to our community and draws families and new homeowners to our neighborhood. Such cuts makes fools of us who have decided to live in the City because we hope to raise our families in communities that are vibrant, safe and have amazing neighborhood services such as Fishtown.

Recent events have deeply divided Fishtowners on the issue of the casino on Delaware Avenue, but I can assure you that all of Fishtown is united around our library, and we will hold the City Council responsible if they vote for a budget that cuts service from the libraries.

Thank you very much.

(Applause.)

Carolyn Morgan (Kingsessing branch) Testimony at City Council May 9 (transcript)

2009-05-18T21:35:00.000-07:00

MS. MORGAN: Good morning. My name is Carolyn Morgan and, first of all, I would like to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you so very much to our City Council for having the initiative and the wisdom to give it a chance to look into the situation for the funding for the libraries, to keep them open. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now, I represent Kingsessing Library, member of the Coalition to Save the Libraries, the Friends of Kingsessing Library. I'm a retired senior citizen, a grandmother and a mother. I come on behalf of our libraries throughout the City and my Kingsessing branch. We need the support of City Council, continued support. Our library needs the essential tools and materials to function.

We have many programs going on within the library. We can't look at how many books are taken out to say how a library is serviced, because a lot of the children attend different reading programs, utilize the computers through research. The work is done within the library itself.

Now, our children are in dire need of the library remaining open. It is their resource, their haven, safe haven, where they can go where they are taught, because your library is also a form of a teaching institution. We need our librarians. Our library serves the same purpose as a teacher in a public school or any school classroom.

(Applause.)

MS. MORGAN: We need the books. Computers are fine, yes. It carries them towards the future, but we need the books because the books are what help the mind to grow, to learn, to comprehend, to research, and without the proper materials and whatnot, what would be done with our children, in our census speaking, it will be a form of murder because the mind is not being fed. The physical body needs to be fed in order to be healthy.

(Applause.)

MS. MORGAN: The mental mind needs to be fed in order to grow in wisdom and knowledge, to learn how to comprehend, how to think straight, how to research, how to be able to help one another. Without books, they can't do it. Without the librarians, they don't have the teachers to teach them to learn how to research, because the schools cannot do it all. And we need our libraries. We need the funding that was cut to be restored. We need those 111 positions that were cut to be refilled. We need our security that was taken away and placed in the prisons and whatnot to come back into our libraries for the safety of our children and our workers.

We need the help of the City Council to continue to back us. Not everybody is born with a silver spoon or in blue grass country –

COUNCIL PRESIDENT VERNA: Thank you.

(Applause.)

Samia Bolling (Haddington Branch) Testimony at City Council May 9 (transcript)

2009-05-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

MS. BOLLING: Good morning. My name is Samia Bolling. I am a member of the Friends of the Haddington Branch of the library, and I just wanted to take just my three minutes to talk about the history of our local Haddington branch.

Our Haddington branch was founded in December of 1915 by Albert Kelsey. Andrew Carnegie donated the library, and we found out doing some research. I'm not here to argue numbers or crunch numbers or budgets about who library saves and who should go, because I don't think anyone should be put in a room to decide my library or my community is more important than yours.

We are in an economic recession right now, and the Mayor's Office is funding a lot of programs that come through our local branch; for example, the Reentry for Ex-Offenders program. If we cut our service and our staff by, you know, three days a week, that could be one day that some young man or young woman could come in looking for a job and the library is closed. That could be the fate that decided they're going to try to go the right way or go back to a life of crime.

A lot of children use the library. Our library was just closed this Monday due to budget. We didn't have enough staff, and that affected a lot of people.

We are living in a digital age now, and right here currently in Philadelphia less than half of the library users even have access to a home computer, home Internet service, where a lot of kids are doing research now.

And I just wanted to give a little history about preserving the Carnegie libraries. And it seems to me that this is just going on.

Andrew Carnegie in 1903 donated 1,681 libraries across the United States. He gave out of his own pocket $41,233,853, you know, to donate to say that the libraries was here. He doesn't have any personal ties to our area. He just decided that every great city needs a library.

We do so much in our library right now. The question that we were asked to bring here before City Council to speak was what would this impact our communities if we were to operate on a reduced staff, a reduced budget and everything. So I just want to talk a little bit about the programs that we do in our library.

We have a childhood pre-school story time that has been affected. We have our Summer in the Science program – it is put on hold. Our reading program is put on hold. We have not had new magazines or periodicals since well over last year sometime. I think our last magazines are dated March and April of 2008.

We have a lot of people that volunteer. A few weeks ago we broke ground for a community garden, and we are still going to try to do that.

Our library impacts so many people in our community and it goes across race, economic, social, gender, handicapped, sexual orientation or religious background. And it would just really greatly impacts our community because we do so much in our community. We had the Maasai warriors from Kenya here. We offer a multi-cultural program so we can learn about diverse backgrounds and cultures.

Our own Councilman -- I'm in the 4th District -- Councilman Curtis Jones sponsors a children's parenting workshop every year. City Councilman Curtis Jones just gave a few recycling buckets to our Earth Day campaign that we kicked off this past Earth Day. Councilman Jones' office repeatedly comes and shows his staff. They always come and support any meeting we have at our library, and we just wanted to say thank you to our Councilman for always supporting us.

I have on my billboard here a picture that Councilman Jones took on the steps with our library back in November of 2008, and he said that he was going to fight for us, and we're just asking that not just Councilman Jones in our district -- I'm not here to argue about West Philly versus North Philly versus South Philly. We just want full funding restored to all of our libraries. The children and education is our future. Right now we are building more prisons than schools and we're tearing down libraries. So we just ask that you just think of the children and think of how this will greatly affect your community. If these kids don't have anywhere to go, they will pick up guns instead of books. They will pick up crime instead of knowledge. They will pick up hate instead of love for a community and for themselves.

So we just thank you, City Council, for taking the time out of your busy Saturday to listen to our concerns, and just save our libraries, because when you save our libraries, you save our city, you save our communities and you save ourselves and our future.

Thank you.

(Applause.)

Katrina Clark (Durham branch) Testimony at City Council May 9 (transcript)

2009-05-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

MS. CLARK: Hello. My name is Katrina Clark. I'm a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, both Manayunk and West Philadelphia. I'm also someone who chooses to live and work in the City of Philadelphia when I could choose to live and work somewhere else.

I'm amazed that we're still having this conversation about just how important the essential services are in a time of an economic crisis. I'm surprised as well to have to defend the importance of access to knowledge and resources, and I'm astounded that the City of Philadelphia dares to define itself as a world-class city and is willing to starve out its own citizens for the benefit of big business.

We, the citizens of Philadelphia, are not blind and we're not dumb. We know the nature of politics as usual. We know how lower, middle class, working class and poor people have borne the brunt of crises, both economic and otherwise, since time and memorial. We pretend that things are different or we can talk matter-of-factly about what is going on here.

Philadelphia dares to be out front ahead of the game, a world-class city, but our city uses antediluvian ways to respond in a crisis. The way that we respond in a crisis defines who we are.

After 9/11, the City of New York, known for its cool attitude and cold shoulder, pulled together, stranger helping stranger. These very acts will define the moral character of New York forever. And now we find ourselves in another crisis. It may at first not seem to be on the same scale, but as the waves of economic drop ripple across not only cities but nations, we are looking at a situation that directly affects individuals across the entire world. And now we, the City of Philadelphia, have to ask ourselves, how are we going to respond? And what hurts my heart is that instead of pulling together, our City government is asking us to fight over scraps. I'm not so sure that that behavior qualifies us to be a world-class city.

Two hundred years ago Philadelphia was actually known to be a world-class city. During that time before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphians were striving for equality for all, from demanding that all children be allowed in education, to founding the first public library so that those who cannot afford to have libraries of their own could literally share a wealth of knowledge. Philadelphia has been in the forefront for centuries. Yet, as time goes on, we are slipping further and further away from the ideals that we are founded upon. We can't keep living off our old reputation. It's time to step up. If we want to be a world-class city, then we need to treat our citizens as world-class citizens. All world-class citizens need equity of access to education and information in order to be educated and contributing members of society. Free public libraries are essential in striving for a level playing field. They were founded on this principle, and they will continue to be relevant in the strengthening of our democracy. Free public libraries in fact have grown in importance since their inception, now not only offering books and conversation, but also access to technology and resources that are paramount in facing the economic crisis in which we presently find ourselves.

Now, in this time of crisis, it is more important than ever to reflect on the core values that our city and nation were founded on. It is too easy in crisis mode to destroy the very foundation that we love and aim to protect. If we want to rebuild this world-class city of ours, then standing true to our mission and objectives is key.

We cannot abandon our goals in times of economic crisis. Then we would only add on a moral crisis, that of allowing the gap between rich and poor, black and white to further widen. When we look back in 10, 20 or 100 years at how we responded to this economic and burgeoning moral crisis, how will we have defined ourselves? Who will we have protected? What good will big business be able to do if the very moral fabric of our society has imploded? If we drop the safety nets of essential services, what state will we find ourselves in? What irreparable damage will we have caused?

As we learned from September 11th, everyday citizens, people from all walks of life can and will indeed stand together to fight for a common cause in the face of a crisis. I ask that City Council support the City in finding an equitable response to this crisis in which those who have more are asked to step up the same way that citizens of New York did almost eight years ago, to help out those who have less. It is time to put down ego and greed and reach out hands of humanity across this city so that we can pull each other through these very rough times.

Full funding needs to return to the Free Library of Philadelphia so that citizens can fully utilize the resources of our city. Full hours and staffing need to be restored to meet the expanded need of the population. The four-staff-minimum policy needs to be rescinded to add more flexibility to an already stressed system. To support the staff that will be doing even more work during these times of increased library usage, the very least we can do is boost morale by allowing them to do their jobs fully and not punishing them by closing a library when they are sick or have a personal emergency--

COUNCIL PRESIDENT VERNA: Thank you very much.

(Applause.)

Sherrie Cohen (Ogontz branch) Testimony at City Council May 9 (transcript)

2009-05-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

MS. COHEN: Hello, Councilwoman Verna and other City Council members. My name is Sherrie Cohen, as you know, and I'm the daughter of Councilman David Cohen in whose honor the Ogontz Library is named. The library was renamed the David Cohen Ogontz Library after my father died in 2005 in recognition of the 36 years he, my mother, Florence Cohen, and the entire Ogontz community fought for a library to serve their community. The David Cohen Ogontz Library is a library borne of struggle. It is also the newest library branch in the City and opened in 1997.

The question before City Council today is, do you want to pay on the front end or the back end of people's lives? Do you want to invest in young people? Do you want to invest in our communities or will Philadelphia continue to suffer the ravages of disinvestment and decline, high unemployment, poverty and mass incarceration?

Our libraries are a beacon of light in our communities, a sanctuary, a community center, a hub of information and resources. The library promises a step up in life for our school children, our young adults and job-seekers of all ages.

Our libraries need to have the resources, the days open, the staffing that we had in November before the Mayor slashed the Free Library budget by 20 percent. This 20 percent cut has crippled our libraries at a time when library visits are up 21 percent in the City.

Our library, the David Cohen Ogontz Library, is operating with one-third less staff since November, including the loss of our full-time municipal guard who was laid off. The new Free Library rule of four, which requires four staff needed in order to open the library, including a security guard, has left our library closed on too many days since November, leaving community members irate because of a lack of access to the community's facilities.

People who need the services of the library are being turned away on a daily basis because of unscheduled closings and irregular hours. On a recent day when there was an unscheduled closing, children from a daycare center approached the library. Their collective cry, “The library is closed!” could break your heart.

Also, our libraries' materials budgets have been cut by 30 percent. There is no money to purchase summer reading book lists for students in grades one through 12. There's no budget for the summer reading programming for children, teens or adults. Our after-school program has seen cuts in hours for after-school leaders and student assistants. Program money has been eliminated. Outreach activities have been suspended. There are no funds for Saturday overtime for staff to participate in community events and health fairs. Our library staff is overworked, and morale is low.

The Free Library's new five-day-a-week schedule is insufficient to accommodate the large numbers of people seeking to use our City's libraries. For example, we have so many people now using our library that children can only use the computers 15 minutes each day and adults only one half hour each day.

We thank City Council for standing with us when the Mayor sought to close our library and ten other libraries by December 31st. We ask you to stand with us now. Councilman Jones is considering the introduction of legislation to restore the $8 million to the Free Library budget that the Mayor cut in November.

(Applause.)

MS. COHEN: We ask you to please support this legislation.

I'm a member of the Friends of the David Cohen Ogontz Library. Many of our members are active with the Coalition to Save the Libraries, whose organizing we credit with the saving of our libraries from closure. The Coalition to Save the Libraries is in turn a member organization of the Coalition for Essential Services. We support the demands of the Essential Services Coalition for no cuts to services and fair and equitable taxation.

We want City Council to adopt a budget that invests in our neighborhoods, creates quality jobs for our residents and is adequately funded by a progressive tax system in which corporations, large non-profit institutions and individuals pay their fair share.

Thank you.

(Applause.)

Susan Gould (Fumo branch) Testimony at City Council May 9 (transcript)

2009-05-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

MS. GOULD: My name is Susan Gould. I represent the Fumo Library on Broad Street between Ritner and Porter. I'm a member of the Coalition to Save the Libraries, and in real life, I'm a music and dance critic, a teacher of Italian, German and French, an editor and a proofreader, none of which adds up to pay the bills. But I will not go through everything that I had originally intended, because my colleagues have been so extraordinarily eloquent. I will say, first of all, that the Fumo Library has suffered the same problems as the others that have been referred to today when it became one of the 11 expendable libraries, and we have had the same terrible effects on our programs that had to be either cancelled or postponed. And one thing that distinguishes the Fumo Library, are, for instance, our monthly Italian movies, which for a couple of months couldn't take place, great deals of programs for children, both daycare center children and children who attend the Fels Community Center next door. We service, I think, if I'm not mistaken, six public schools in the neighborhood.

So I will simply reiterate that any -- it's already been bad enough until now. The mere fact that we have libraries closed on Saturdays in the summer, which has been going on for decades perhaps, is a huge mistake. To reduce hours even further or days or whichever horrible plan might be taken on is inconceivable and must not be done.

I would like to remind everybody that in the news the other day on Thursday, our Pennsylvania Senate presented a budget that literally eviscerates the state's cultural body; for instance, slashing the entire budgets for the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, Pennsylvania's part of PBS, Public Broadcasting System, the Office for -- the Film Office, which directly affects Philadelphia. And what else? And this really hit: The Office for Safe Schools. Now, I ask you, what are the safest and most inspiring and most comforting and most useful havens for children, especially if our government decides that there should no longer be a department to make sure their schools are safe -- and we know how unsafe many schools are -- than libraries?

It's true that this proposal by the republican majority of the Senate may not take place, may not go further, definitely will be argued about, but there will be cuts.

Now, Pennsylvania, it has been said -- I'm sure you've all heard this -- is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between. Now, do we want to have Philadelphia end up in the same status as other parts of our state from whence comes some of those senators who think that culture and arts and safe schools are not as important as additional funding for prisons, which we wouldn't need if everybody could get to libraries and be safe in their schools?

So we don't want to make the same mistake. We don't want to be another -- nothing against Alabama. It was just that was the way the quote went. But let us not let our City Council, please, City Council, don't do a Pennsylvania state Senate, don't pull that on the Philadelphia libraries.

Thank you.

(Applause.)

Betty Beaufort (Queen Memorial) Testimony at City Council May 9 (transcript)

2009-05-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

MS. BEAUFORT: Good afternoon, Madam President and members of City Council. My name is Betty Beaufort. I'm here to represent Queen Memorial Library, Point Breeze. I just want to tell you the reasons why we don't want our library -- we don't want any libraries closed, but specifically Queen Memorial.

We can feed our minds and take trips without leaving Point Breeze by reading our books, also computer usage, like doing resumes for jobs. Children use the library for doing their homework and special projects. Bottom line, we're asking for full funding to restore the libraries to its level of function, open six days and fully staffed. And I find out our pool is now going to be closed. My question is, what are we to do with our children for the summer? Blood in the street? You know the saying, An idle mind is the devil's workshop.

We need our libraries and we need our pools.

I also have some letters from our children that go to Queen Memorial. I want you to hear what the children had to say:

Dear Councilwomen and men, my name is Praise Robinson. I am 11 years old. The one place I love is the Queen Memorial Library. The school I go to is W.G. Smith School. At the library I like to read, play games, get on the computer and I like to do my homework, and I get help with it.

The library is important to me, because when I have homework, important projects, this is the closest place I can come and do it to get it done.

Please don't close down the library. We know how you would feel if this was your home library.

Sincerely,
Praise Robinson.

I also have another one, from Cameron:

Dear Councilwomen and men, my name is Cameron. I really enjoy the library called Queen Memorial. I am ten years old, and the reason why I like this library, because I'm doing my homework, getting on the computer, coloring, painting and reading and a whole lot of other stuff. The library is very fun.

I have one more, because this is the way the children feel in Queen Memorial, because this is about the children:

Dear Councilwomen and men, my name is Samantha Robbins. I go to Vare Elementary. We really need our home library. Please don't close the library. Kids come to the library to stay off the streets and get educated. Think hard. Queen Memorial is important to us.

Sincerely, Samantha.

And we also have a crosscut of kids. We have about six or seven schools that go and use the library -- St. Thomas Aquinas, Prep Charter, Bok High School and University Institute and Arthur's. So we're asking, please do the right thing by all the libraries in Philadelphia, especially for Queen Memorial.

Thank you.

Edward Darnell Ryans (Mantua Cares) Testimony at City Council May 9 (transcript)

2009-05-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

MR. RYANS: Good afternoon. My name is Edward Darnell Ryans and I am the Executive Director of a community organization called Mantua Cares. We have a journalism program that resides in the Charles Durham Library, which I just briefly want to speak about its importance.

Our mission, of course, is to foster the self-development of the Mantua community while serving as an advocate for community leaders and their importance to society. In a time where educational reform is on the highest agenda of the nation, we cannot begin to strip away the very support mechanism that helps to foster it. A budget should reflect the values of what we as a city hold most important. We may have a deficit in the budget, but we can never have a deficit in our efforts to further education, to promote literacy and to public access to technology and the Internet.

In an environment where teachers are underpaid, the inappropriate resources for both students and teachers, looming threats of closed libraries, high school dropouts are at an alarming rate, we cannot keep tugging away at the foundational blocks of education for its ultimate collapse and at the same time promote the importance of literacy and education.

These libraries, they provide us with free access to thousands of books, CDs and videos, which are essential for research and homework assistance for our youth. Our libraries provide early literacy training and foster lifelong learning. Programs such as the Mantua Times, we engage our youth in writing, literacy, community engagement and not only giving them a voice to be heard but a platform on which to do it. Other programs such as our Poetry Program for Spoken Word promotes self-expression.

Our librarians provide reference to services and help with the Internet access and technology, which provides an indirect building of a technical know-how for administrative support-type jobs. In our economic times, where online job searches and application submissions are prevalent, a mother who has two part times during the week and uses the weekend to search the Internet for jobs is very important to have those resources available.

Our libraries operate to provide everyone with free and equal access to information and to promote intellectual freedom. It is that phrase, the urgency of now, that still echo and we must hold on to. We must not only be mindful of the changes around us, but we must be just as conscious of the change that needs to happen within us. Frederick Douglas once said, Find out just what people will submit to and you will find out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and that will continue until it is resisted.

The times now have told us that all things are possible and all goals can be reached with the very sacred and simple support of a collective effort, for a tomorrow that ceases at the table back to our communities to build them as we see it, for a tomorrow that supports our businesses and, more importantly, a tomorrow that brings our young men and women to a vision of success.

These economic times have challenged not only our homes but also our values on the importance of a library, and to that, I think we all stand and say, Not today, not this time, and not our libraries.

Thank you.

City from Below conference, Baltimore, March 28

2009-03-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

Xzavier Cheatom (Baltimore Algebra Project), Sherrie Cohen (Coalition to Save the Libraries), Dana Barnett (Coalition to Save the Libraries), Betty Beauford (Coalition to Save the Libraries), and Chris Goodman (Baltimore Algebra Project)

On Saturday, March 28, members of the Coalition to Save the Libraries gave a presentation about their work alongside members of the Baltimore Algebra Project.

LISTEN TO THE PRESENTATION:
To hear an audio recording of the Coalition's presentation, click HERE

NEW DAY FOR LIBRARIES, PARTLY CLOUDY

2009-03-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Press Release - March 25, 2009

EASTWICK LIBRARY REMAINS CLOSED, CITYWIDE SYSTEM WEAKENED BY PREVIOUS CUTS

When Mayor Nutter announced last week that all library branches would remain open, Philadelphia’s now nationally-recognized Coalition to Save the Libraries had reason to celebrate. Certainly not in recent history has such a diverse group been so successful in overturning the agenda of a Philadelphia Mayor and the strong Mayor system.

Instead, they’ll be lobbying and demonstrating on March 26th at City Hall.

Rather than just celebrating, library advocates are quick to point out that Mayor Nutter’s sunny budget forecast hides a weakened library system still reeling from a 20% cut in December.

“We are lobbying City Council to restore our library system and to protect our other essential Services from other sneaky cuts, “ said Sherrie Cohen, one of the attorneys who successfully argued the case that stopped Mayor Nutter from closing 11 of the 54 branches on December 31 of last year.

Because of staffing shortages caused by cuts, libraries continue to close without warning across the City, collections are incomplete in many neighborhoods and the Eastwick branch has been closed since February because the City refuses to maintain the building.

Sasa Ynoa is an Eastwick library patron and mother of two sons: Judah who is 9, and Hatuey who will be 2 in May. Judah goes to Penrose School, a public school in the area. She used to take him to the Eastwick library frequently to check out books, and also for the summer reading program and the science for kids program.

"It makes me really sad,“ said Sasa. “There are so few services in the area already, and that's like our only resource for books. There's not even a bookstore that's closer than 20 minutes by car. At the Eastwick library, they have a reading section for kids. A lot of kids use the computer there. You see teens going in there to check out books."

"Closing that library sends the message that we are forgotten and don't matter."

That’s why the Coalition to Save the Libraries is calling on Mayor Nutter to fully restore the funding and staffing levels that were cut in December, to reopen the closed Eastwick branch, and to fund libraries by having wealthy corporations, who avoid paying their fair share through tax loopholes, participate more fully in City funding.

Library patrons will be joining the Coalition for Essential Services on Thursday March 26 at City Hall for meetings with City Council representatives.

“Targeting Union workers, imposing regressive taxes, and applying fees to once-free services does not protect the City’s most vulnerable in these difficult economic times,” says Greg Benjamin, a Committeeperson in the 51st Ward and member of the Coalition to save the Libraries. “And we’re not going to stand for it.”

Queen Memorial Branch We Love Our Library event Feb. 14

2009-03-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

Kingsessing Branch We Love Our Library event Feb. 14th

2009-03-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Durham Branch We Love Our Library Celebration, Feb 14, 2009

2009-03-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

Feelin' the Cuts visited Charles L. Durham Library on Valentine's Day to partake in the "We Love Our Library" celebration happening there. Youth and their parents that use the library on a regular basis got together to show their appreciation for the library and tell our elected officials that they want it to stay open! The event was put together in part by the Coalition to Save the Libraries.

Feelin' the Cuts is a dynamic team of youth and young adults committed to educating youth about city politics in order to include youth voice in the political decision making process. Using outreach, workshops and media production, we aim to empower young people to cope with the budget cuts and advocate for their rights and needs. Feelin' The Cuts is part of the UCCP's Temple Youth VOICES Project.

2009-02-06T11:53:00.000-08:00

BE A PART OF THE GRASSROOTS CHANGE THAT IS SWEEPING PHILADELPHIA!

HADDINGTON

Arts & Crafts for the Whole Family

1-3pm

Haddington Branch Library

446 N. 65th Street

FISHTOWN

Library Celebration & Arts Workshop

12-3pm

Fishtown Branch Library

1217 E. Montgomery Avenue

KINGSESSING

Friends meeting Friends Library Celebration

1-3pm

Kingsessing Branch Library

1201 S. 51st Street

WADSWORTH

Arts & Crafts for the Whole Family

2-4pm

Wadsworth Branch Library

1500 Wadsworth Avenue

OGONTZ

* NOTE: FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13th!!!*

Valentine's Party

3-4:30pm

Ogontz Branch Library

6017 Ogontz Avenue

DURHAM

We Love Our Library Fun Day!

12-3pm

3320 Haverford Avenue

QUEEN MEMORIAL

Valentine's Day Poetry Party

Celebrating our LOVE for our library & our children

1pm

Queen Memorial Branch Library

1201 S. 23rd Street

PLEASE BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY - HELP US BUILD A STRONG COALITION!

YOUR PARTICIPATION -WILL- HELP US WIN CHANGE AND PUT THE PRESSURE ON CITY COUNCIL!

2009-01-23T06:29:00.001-08:00

President Barack Obama speaks out in favor of a strong full-service branch library system, while on the campaign trail in Philly!

(Video taken in a Free Library!)

QUOTE:
"It is important that we invest in libraries, because without them we are saying that only a handful of people have access to knowledge, and that's not the kind of country we believe in."

Please, make a commitment today and come join a Coalition to Save the Libraries event and fight for a free Philadelphia.

2009-01-13T17:30:00.000-08:00

2009-01-11T06:46:00.000-08:00

Mayor Nutter, The People find that you are in Contempt of the Judge's Order!

2009-01-07T15:24:00.000-08:00

Join the People's Court & Jesters
Tuesday, January 13
3:30 P.M.
Outside City Hall at the NE Corner

Show your support and help us deliver a Contempt of Court Citation to Mayor Nutter

We Demand that all branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia remain fully funded and fully operational!

No rolling closures
No staff firings
Full services for all neighborhood branches

People's Court Meeting Monday, 1/5/09

2009-01-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

People Court Working Group will meet tomorrow (Monday) from 630 to 830 pm at 48th Kingsessing Avenue.

Anyone who was or wants to be involved in People Court planning and other more aggressive possibilities is urged to attend. A rep from the Outreach and the Media team would be super useful as well.

Hope you all can make it.

Email amirah.naim@gmail.com for the exact address.

2009-01-03T17:43:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from our victory celebration on Wednesday, honoring all the libraries and librarians and hard workers who make our Free Library possible.

True Melting Pot helped Save the Libraries!

2009-01-01T19:02:00.000-08:00

True melting pot helped save libraries
By Jeff Shields
Inquirer Staff Writer

Stirred by Mayor Nutter's proposal to close 11 branch libraries, the opponents came tumbling offthe shelves of Philadelphia society - rich, poor, black, white, homeschoolers from the Northeast, young anarchists from West Philly.
With President-elect Barack Obama's campaign as both inspiration and field guide, they organized, demonstrated and sued, then packed the courtroom for hearings and showered themayor with boos at his own news conference.
Then, astoundingly, they won. At least for now.
A judge's ruling Tuesday forced Nutter to get City Council approval or a court order to implement his plan to save $36 million by 2013 through closing the branches. Nutter called the ruling an assault on the City Charter's strong-mayor form of government and said he would appeal.
Others called it a crucial victory for communities, even a model for civic participation in public policy.
"I've never seen anything quite like this. I've never seen such a diverse group of people come together around one cause," said Eric Braxton of Kingsessing, one of the advocates who rallied around the Kingsessing branch in Southwest Philadelphia.
"People just came together in a very fast and almost surprising way," said Irv Ackelsberg, a former Community Legal Services lawyer and City Council candidate who sued Nutter on behalf of seven residents and the union representing library workers. "We've just come through a few months in which the impossible happened: The Phillies won the world series and Barack Obama became president. My God, we can do anything."
Ackelsberg's case was bolstered by the stories of his plaintiffs, who included a 15-year-old high school student from Ogontz; two women who homeschool their children, one from the Northeast and the other the Northwest; and a South Philly woman whose 11-year-old walks three blocks tothe Queen Memorial branch.
He said the plaintiffs were "basically delivered" to him by a grassroots upwelling whose cohesiveness was partly attributed to the Internet community surrounding the Young Philly Politics blog run by his son, Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg.
Ackelsberg said his son prodded him to file the lawsuit in the first place.
"I do remember a call with something along the lines, 'Dad, I think it's time for you to get off thebench,' " he said.
As soon as Nutter announced the plan on Nov. 6, ordinarily placid residents began to mobilize.
Katrina Clark, a third- and fourth-grade teacher at the Montessori Genesis II school in Mantua, usually takes her students once a week to the Charles L. Durham Library two blocks away. Her school does not have a library.
When Durham was slated for closure, Clark realized that her class would have to make a 2.6-mile round trip to the Walnut Street West branch.

Clark, 29, said was raised in Manayunk in a nonpolitical family.

"The way I grew up in Philadelphia, you just hear what politicians do, and you shake your finger at them because you feel they're doing something wrong, but you don't really feel you can do anything about it," she said.
But the Obama campaign changed that for her. She became a volunteer, made phone calls, knocked on doors, and felt as if she could change things.
"This has been the first time I think I've really stood up and spoke out and didn't just accept a lesser alternative that the politicians were offering me," she said.
And so she became an organizer for a citywide movement called the Coalition to Save the Libraries. The group of about 40 staged a public "indictment" of the mayor outside City Hall on Tuesday and helped fill the courtroom with about 100 people for hearings Monday and Tuesday.
Some of those people took a break from the hearing in Courtroom 426 Monday to attend Nutter's second-floor news conference at which he announced a plan to keep library buildings open with private funding as "knowledge centers." He was roundly booed.
A.J. Thomson, a lawyer, Democratic committeeman, and former officer of the Fishtown Neighbors Association, said the number of protesters was remarkable for the time of year. "This is the dead of winter, holiday time. To get this many people involved now is almost impossible," said Thomson, 32, already a veteran political organizer. "This is a true melting pot of all different kinds of people."
There was a cadre of what detractors like to call professional protesters, to be sure - the same faces that can be counted at any antiestablishment event, passing out antiwar literature or theday's chosen cause.
And the movement was unquestionably bolstered by the participation of West Philadelphia, long a center of leftist political activism, where libraries in Kingsessing and Mantua are on thechopping block.
Hannah Jane Sassaman by day organizes for the Service Employees International Union, but she volunteered to help with public relations for her Kingsessing neighborhood. Thomson, of Fishtown, admiringly described the Kingsessing group as "rabid."
Braxton, 33, a lifetime Kingsessing resident and professional organizer for the Philadelphia Education Fund, described an odd coalition of mostly African American block captains coming together with young white anarchists who hosted a save-the-libraries event at the A-Space at 47th Street and Baltimore Avenue.
The anarchists cooked collard greens, the block captains roused the neighborhood, and Braxton took their cause to the citywide groups.
"I've never seen those two types working together, but in this case, they have," Braxton said.
In an interview with The Inquirer editorial board on Tuesday after the judge's decision, Nutter warned that his inability to proceed with cuts would produce pain somewhere else with finances getting worse.
"I appreciate the passion on the library side," said Nutter, who with fellow City Councilman Frank DiCicco was named 2005 politician of the year by the Library Journal for their fight against library cuts. "But we may have to make even worse decisions going forward."
Those decisions will be closely watched by what the library advocates say is a new consciousness.
"I think it's going to be this kind of ad hoc coalition of organizations across the city," Sassaman said, "that will end up keeping Mayor Nutter accountable to his promise of having a transparent government."

Text of the People's Indictment of Mayor Nutter

2008-12-31T02:01:00.000-08:00

We are the Coalition to Save the Libraries, a group of concerned citizens taking action to keep ALL of Philadelphia's libraries open.

We are here today to indict Mayor Nutter for crimes against the people of Philadelphia. Because closing libraries is a crime. I’m not just talking about the legality of the issue. We can leave that to Judge Fox upstairs. I’m talking about a human and civil rights issue. Every person in this city should be guaranteed equal access to education.

The Mayor announced yesterday that he would be restoring the federally-funded after-school program, LEAP. This message was underwhelming and misleading. First of all, the LEAP program is not an acceptable substitution for library services. It is a program for school-age children that runs during the school year in the hours right after school. While the Mayor is assuring us that there will be computers available, the LEAP program, when in libraries, has access to not only computers, but all of the library system’s books, up-to-date resources, and qualified librarians.

This is a case of the parts not equaling the whole. When we talk about libraries, the sum is so much greater than the parts. Dividing the services of the library and distributing them around the neighborhood just doesn’t add up. And it makes me question… Mayor Nutter, if you acknowledge that all of the services of a library are, in fact, vital to a community, and if you plan to replicate the services of a library all over the community, why would you consider closing the library in the first place?

Let me tell you, Mayor Nutter, that we keep hearing about this plan to make the Main Library stronger at 19th and Vine and that you are seeking money to create two regional branches. And a person just has to ask, close 11 neighborhood libraries? And create 2 more regional ones? Does that make logical sense? Siobhan Reardon, President and Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia, has said that a library system that has a strong central branch and less neighborhood branches, makes a stronger system. Well, this brings up an issue: Who is this system stronger for? Hundreds of people stood up in rallies outside of their branches telling you, Mayor Nutter, that your vision of the library doesn’t work for them. The people throughout the City of Philadelphia are saying to you, Mayor Nutter, this vision of a centralized library DOES NOT WORK FOR US. Who ARE you making the system stronger for, Mayor Nutter? If it is not for the people who live throughout the cities’ diverse neighborhoods, then who is it for? What plans are you hiding and what cuts are you blaming on this budget crisis?

We see through your smoke and mirrors, Mayor Nutter. We see that you have a vision for the Philadelphia library system that is not for the people of Philadelphia. It is a plan that provides more resources to those people who can travel to or live close to 19th and Vine Sts and less resources to the people, living in communities far and wide throughout city of Philadelphia. I don’t know when you last took Septa, Mayor Nutter, but it can be very difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to get across neighborhoods. So, when you take our vital resources and pull them farther away, you are making it more challenging to get those resources and are making it less likely that people will actually be able to access them. This is especially true during times like these, when pockets are tight. Budgets are shrinking for the average person, and yet you are targeting 11 communities and telling them they have to stretch their budgets even further. And for all things: to access a library.

We have had enough! We’ve had enough of your town hall meetings during which you repeatedly say that you are listening, but refuse to answer questions directly and never respond to the growing call to save our city’s libraries. We have had enough of invitation-only “stakeholder meetings” that refuse to even consider alternatives to permanently shuttering 11 of local libraries. Don’t think we haven’t noticed that you are responding to a temporary budget crisis with a permanent elimination of libraries! Don’t think we haven’t noticed that you are taking many library staffers and putting them into other programs around the city like your new pet project, the 311 program. That could be helpful, except IT DOESN”T SAVE YOU MONEY! No, Mayor Nutter, things are just not adding up.

You know, you ran on a platform of transparency and community involvement. And in less than a year you have come back like a slap in the face of Philadelphians. You have made unilateral decisions as if you are the Emperor of Philadelphia, and not a publicly voted-in representative. You have already forgotten, Mayor Nutter, that we are YOUR boss and not the other way around. You only have a job if we say you have a job. You have already broken the trust of the people of Philadelphia. We do not believe you when you say that libraries must close because of budget cuts. We will not celebrate the so-called restoration of a few privately-funded individual services as a replacement for publicly-funded libraries. Your press conference yesterday was no victory, Mayor Nutter. It was a sad shame, that you believe you can stand up in front of the people of Philadelphia, look at us with a straight face and outright lie.

Mayor Nutter, we see where you stand. It is not with the people of Philadelphia. It is not with the community of the Cohen/ Ogontz library, not with the community of the Durham library, not with the community of the Eastwick library, not with Fishtown, not with Fumo, not with Haddington or Holmesburg. You are not standing with Kingsessing or Logan. You, Mayor Nutter, do not stand with the community of Queen’s Memorial or Wadsworth. Because you do not stand with the people, because you are closing 11 of our beloved libraries, we hereby indict you on these charges:
ABANDONING THE MINDS OF CHILDREN
PROMOTING ILLITERACY
ELIMINATING SAFE HAVENS FOR KIDS
ENCOURAGING STREET VIOLENCE
INCREASING JOBLESSNESS
EXPANDING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
CREATING NEIGHBORHOOD BLIGHT
MAKING BOOKS AN ENDANGERED SPECIES
TARGETING LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES
VIOLATING THE PUBLIC TRUST
IGNORING THE PEOPLE'S WILL

If One Voice Can Change a Room......

2008-12-30T20:51:00.000-08:00

Norman Oder of the Library Journal wrote a wonderful article covering the activities of the past few days. It is on the front page of the Library Journal online. You can read it here.

WE ARE WINNING!

2008-12-30T13:56:00.000-08:00

When the Coalition to Save the Libraries began this struggle, Mayor Nutter was poised to close, abandon, and sell off 11 of our precious library branches.

Almost immediately, he seemed to forget all about selling off the buildings. And then he tried to buy us off with a few cheap knockoff libraries - with scant services and without librarians. And all of Philly let him hear our resounding NO.

And now, today - BREAKING NEWS: Judge Idee Fox rules against Mayor Nutter's decision to close branch libraries without the approval of City Council.

The Coalition will sponsor a New Year's Eve celebration of the past, present and future of Philadelphia's libraries at the Kingsessing branch, 51st and Kingsessing, beginning at 3:30 pm, Wednesday, December 31st.

We would like to commend Judge Fox on her decision to issue an injunction halting the library closings. We would also like to congratulate the lawyers and plaintiffs whose hard work helped to bring about this important victory. Most importantly, we recognize the efforts of every resident who spoke at a Town Hall meeting, attended a rally at their library, and was active in their community on this issue. Because of everyone's passion and hard work, we will ring in the New Year with all our beloved libraries open!

This is a victory for every child, senior, and community member who needs the basic services that our Free Libraries provide every day. We look forward to working together with Mayor Nutter and City Council to continue to improve our library services and to ensure that all Philadelphians have access to the education and opportunities that they deserve.

Here are some photos from todays People's Court Indictment - bringing the pressure to the front steps of City Hall on the day of our legal victory!

EARLY to RISE UP

2008-12-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

Libraries weren't always free. They weren't always a resource for ALL citizens.

If we don't stand up...rise up, we will lose this human and civil right!

Free libraries for ALL citizens! Free libraries for ALL Philadelphia neighborhoods!

NO second-class marginalized citizens! NO second-class marginalized neighborhoods!

STAND UP! RISE UP!

PUSH THE LAWSUIT TO SAVE THE LIBRARIES:

Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 29 and 30), 10:00 a.m. , City Hall in Courtroom 426

Pack the courtroom! This judge was elected - let her know! Bring I.D.!

WITNESS AT THE MAYOR'S PRESS CONFERENCE:

Monday, Dec. 29, 1:00 p.m., City Hall Reception Room 202

Mayor's Press Conference. Dear Mayor Nutter: SAVE OUR LIBRARIES. LIBRARIES ARE A CORE SERVICE.

INDICT THE MAYOR:

Tuesday, Dec. 30, 9:30 a.m. , NE corner of City Hall

PEOPLE'S INDICTMENT OF MAYOR NUTTER for betraying the trust of the people by shuttering 11 branches.

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL AND BLOCK PARTY FOR ALL LIBRARIES:

Wednesday Dec 31st, 3:30PM, Kingsessing Library, 1201 South 51st

Candle-light Vigil and all-community Block Party to save the libraries. Everyone turn out for this huge, multi-neighborhood event?

STAND UP! RISE UP! Come and bring people. Represent!!

Eleanor Childs

NEWS FLASH!

2008-12-26T12:59:00.000-08:00

Mayor Nutter will be holding a press conference on Monday at 1pm in City Hall to announce that library services have been "restored" in 11 communities in the city. I believe this refers to all the replicated services like Community Learning Centers that Siobhan Reardon and Nutter have been planning.

The press conference will be held at 1pm in City Hall, Room 202. This should be opened to the public.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Meeting Location Changed

2008-12-26T12:52:00.000-08:00

!!!!CHANGE IN LOCATION!!!!
Meeting to continue planning has changed location. Please, share far and wide with emails AND phone calls.
Saturday, Dec 27, 2pm: Meeting at Former Philadelphia School Board Administration Building , 230 north 21st street, unit # 107 to complete tasks for upcoming events
ALL ARE WELCOME.

Also, side note: Any petitions that you have or see at ANY library, please, bring it with you to the meeting tomorrow or the hearing on Monday. It will be admitted as evidence.

Flyer for Hearings on Lawsuits- 12/29, 12/30

2008-12-26T11:31:00.000-08:00

Flyer for People's Indictment-Tues 12/30

2008-12-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

United We Stand

2008-12-26T04:57:00.000-08:00

It is important that we stand united. The library closings are not just in Black neighborhoods. Racially and ethnically speaking, the group of 11 libraries represents equal opportunity devastation.

I hope that we can get more support from patrons/friends/staffs of the libraries that are not closing. Who is say that they will make the next so-called "right sizing" cut?

In unity--a luta continua...

Eleanor Childs

Give It Back, Mayor Nutter!

2008-12-25T08:01:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share with you what I will be doing over the long holiday. I am submitting the following letter via email to John N. Berry, III, Editor-at-Large of the Library Journal and Ann Kim, of the Library Journal. Why, you ask? Well I intend to ask Library Journal to rescind the 2005 Library Journal Politician of the Year award that was awarded to then Councilmen Michael Nutter. John Berry wrote a glowing article in support of Mayor Nutter’s activism (http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6256287.html?q=2005+politician+of+the+year) to save the libraries in 2005. Mayor Nutter was then headlining rallies (imagine that?) against closing libraries. I will also ask that the Library Journal send letters to the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News in solidarity rescinding the award.

If anyone wants to join me by contacting the Library Journal, contact information will follow the letter I intend to send. Don't forget to attend the court hearings on Monday and Tuesday and the People's Court Indictment on Tuesday morning at 9:30. More details will be posted later.

Dear Mr. Berry and Miss Kim,

I write you as a resident of the City of Philadelphia. As you may know, our mayor, Michael A. Nutter is on the verge of betraying the public trust and betraying the award you bestowed on him, 2005 Politician of the Year, by proposing a budget cut that will lead to the closing of 11 branch libraries in the City of Philadelphia as of December 31, 2008. Many citizens have come out to protest this decision but our mayor will not budge nor will he give citizens the opportunity to identify alternatives to help save our libraries.

Mayor Nutter received your award because he vehemently attacked our then mayor, John Street. Mayor Nutter is now steadfast in his resolve to close these 11 branches, several of which are Carnegie endowed branches. The mayor seems to think it is acceptable to ask citizens to walk up to 2 miles to the nearest library, regardless of safety or environmental issues that may arise. In a city where less than 50% of public schools have libraries, the mayor deems it acceptable to decrease even further access to free, public libraries, all under the ruse of the “economic crisis.”

I write to you to ask that you join our protest and in solidarity submit a letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News rescinding the award that you bestowed on Mayor Nutter. For the reasons I stated above, he does not deserve the distinguished honor of your award. It disturbs me to read Mayor Nutter’s statements in your article, “Politicians of the Year 2005: Frank DiCicco & Michael Nutter—The Rescuers”, from just three short years ago. It is so contradictory to his current obstinate stance, unwillingness to allow the citizens to seek alternatives, lack of transparency with which the decisions have been made and shifting rationales offered for depriving our neighborhoods of libraries.

I hope you will consider bringing your influence to bear on this issue and to help us save our libraries. With the subpar illiteracy and drop-out rates and the digital divide that plagues the City of Philadelphia, our communities can no more afford to lose their libraries than they can afford to lose any other critical city service.

Thank you for your consideration,
Amirah Naim

Contact information below:

Ann Kim via e-mail at akim@reedbusiness.com or by post to:
Library Journal
360 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10010
or by FAX at 646-746-6734.

Editor-at-Large
John N. Berry III
Tel: 646-746-6822
Email: jberry@reedbusiness.com

What's Coming Up?

2008-12-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Dec. 27th, 2 pm: Meeting at the Unitarian Church at 22nd and Chestnut. Updates on where each working group is, list what action steps still need to be done to complete our upcoming events, break out into groups to finish completing tasks.

Monday, Dec. 29th, 10 am: Hearings at City Hall in Room 426 to hear the cases of the class-action law suit being brought by Irv Ackelsberg and the lawsuit being brought by Councilpersons Green, Blackwell, and Kelly. Bring signs! (We'll leave them outside of the courtroom.)

Tuesday, Dec. 30th, 9:30 am: People's Indictment of Mayor Nutter at the northeast corner of City Hall. The Coalition to Save the Libraries will formally indict Mayor Nutter on the crimes he has committed against the City of Philadelphia. Bring signs!

Tuesday, Dec. 30, 10 am: Hearings at City Hall in Room 426 to hear the cases of the class-action law suit being brought by Irv Ackelsberg and the lawsuit being brought by Councilpersons Green, Blackwell, and Kelly. Bring signs! (We'll leave them outside of the courtroom.) We'll hear the City's arguments today.

Please, pass this information on. Flyers are coming that you will be able to pass out in your community. Word-of-mouth has been the most effective means of communication so far, so keep it up! Hope to see you out there.

Deeds

2008-12-24T18:47:00.000-08:00

"It's common for men to give 6 pretend reasons instead of one real one". Ben Franklin

This quote caught my eye because I am really waiting to hear the REAL story behind the decision to close these (and maybe others?) libraries...

Welcome!

2008-12-24T01:43:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the blog for the Coalition to Save the Libraries. Here you can find updates on what this group is working on in order to keep all of Philadelphia's Free Libraries open.

December 22nd, 2008

2008-12-22T01:45:00.000-08:00

Just an update to keep everyone abreast of the issues. A group of us went down to City Hall today to speak to City Council members directly. For the most part we spoke to staff people who said they would pass on our messages to Council members. While no one council member outright agreed to sign on to the lawsuit being filed by Irv Ackelsberg tomorrow, there is some news to share.
First, the email and phone blasts everyone did to friends and family worked. In many of the offices, staff mentioned that phone calls were coming in all morning about the libraries. Kudos to all who spread the word!
Second, Councilman Green and his staff are working on finding an appropriate way to fit into either the lawsuit already mentioned or a parallel lawsuit that will be filed very soon.
Third, the press conference by the Black Clergy was canceled this afternoon at 1pm, but the rally at 56th and Girard still took place. Mayor Nutter, many members of the Black Clergy and several community members and representatives of library branches and the Friends of the Free Library were in attendance. Several members of the Black Clergy spoke up against the mayor in direct disagreement with his plan to close 11 of Philadelphia's public libraries. Amy Dougherty of the Friends of the Free Library also spoke on the common message of shared sacrifice that all seemed to have tonight. Councilman Bill Green blew us away with a well-researched talk summarizing the very strong arguments against closing the libraries.
But, we have more work to do. For this reason, there will be a planning meeting tomorrow evening (Tuesday, December 23rd) at 6 pm at the Unitarian Church at 22nd and Chestnut Streets. The entrance is on the right side of the church when you are on Chestnut St. Please, call if you get lost, call me at 215-272-7091. On the agenda: Rally/ Indictment/ Further steps for Monday, December 29th; direct action on December 31st; further action plans for the future; updates on lawsuit/s; and other issues that may arise.
It is VERY IMPORTANT that we have ALL OF THE LIBRARIES REPRESENTED. We want to stand strong and united. Please, pass this information on to everyone you know. This meeting is OPEN TO EVERYONE.