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Residents like Eric Braxton, a member of a coalition to save the 11 library branches Mayor Michael Nutter wanted to close for budget reasons, have a lot to rejoice about these days. Because in short, the Kingsessing native and other library proponents took on the city’s top dog and won.
While the victory is sweet, the fight is far from over.
"It was a tremendous first step. It was amazing how people from all over the city came together to fight for their libraries, but we have a long way to go to keep the kind of libraries we need in our neighborhoods," Braxton, who grew up using the Kingsessing branch at 1201 S. 51st St., said.
Monday, City officials met with Judge Idee Fox to ask her to reconsider her Dec. 30 ruling that the mayor cannot shutter libraries without approval from City Council. In ruling against the mayor, Fox cited a 1988 ordinance requiring Council approval to close any city-owned building and also said the land upon which two branches sit would revert to the original owners if the libraries ceased operation.
Fox refused to reverse her decision and the mayor filed an appeal Tuesday with the Commonwealth Court; a hearing is scheduled for late February.
"What we’re saying is we’re going to do everything we can to comply with the judge’s order. At the same time we have appealed the decision," Nutter spokesman Doug Oliver told the Review.
At press time, all library branches were open including Eastwick, 2851 Island Ave., the other local branch on the chopping block. But how long they remain open is yet to be seen, because according to Oliver, reduced hours and/or closing of some branches sporadically is likely.
"We had reduced staff with the expectation that these 11 libraries would close, and that is making it difficult to staff all branches. On occasion there could be emergency closures," Oliver said.
In Braxton’s opinion, the lack of staff is an excuse.
"The Mayor’s response has been to threaten the whole library system with these rolling closures. So the Mayor and the library director [Sioban Reardon] are saying, ‘well now we’re short staffed.’ This is sour grapes from the Mayor. He lost the court case and now he’s punishing the libraries and those who use them," the resident said.
In the face of heated criticism and accusations that Nutter has turned his back on being a library proponent — something dating back to his City Councilman days when he stood up to then-Mayor John Street who wanted to shutter the institutions — Oliver sets the record straight.
"We’re [Nutter administration] supporters of the library system. Our decisions recently are not based on the misunderstanding of the value of the library system but instead they have been decisions on the full understanding of the city’s financial condition," the spokesman said. SWR
