Philly Libraries Go Express

Twenty libraries to be manned by clerks, open four hours daily

By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 4/1/2005

Imagine if your mayor decided to convert nearly half of the city's libraries into "express" branches that were opened only four hours a day and manned by clerks with high school diplomas. That's what Philadelphia Mayor John Street did earlier this year to help balance the city budget—and librarians and their patrons aren't happy about it.

"I feel terrible, not for me, but for the community we serve," says Suzin Rigsby, manager and children's librarian at the Wyoming branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, one of 20 branches that are being described as "McBranches" by library supporters because their service will be reduced to the equivalent of fast-food restaurants.

The bad news started in early January, when Street laid off 17 library staffers, 10 of whom were branch managers, Rigsby says. The mayor's office subsequently said that it was turning 20 of the city's 53 full-service libraries into afternoon branches that would operate 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday. So far, half of the 20 libraries have been converted, which means they're being run by library assistants or clerks, not professional librarians who are trained in research and have master's degrees.

What does the mayor's office have to say about this? "The majority of people who go to the library don't need that level of support or assistance" says Street's spokesman Dan Fee. "Most people check out books, and a library assistant can help with most of their needs."

That's news to people like Rigsby, who says more than 60 percent of her patrons speak a primary language other than English and that kids from 14 local schools frequent her branch to attend storytimes and after-school tutoring and to use the computers. Since the two schools directly across the street from the Wyoming branch either have no librarian or a very small library, "none of these schools have the resources to meet the homework and research demands of their students," says Rigsby. And since many students are in an extended-day program, they're not dismissed until 4:30 p.m., only a half hour before the library's new closing time.

Karen Lash, president of the nearby Edwin Forrest Elementary School parents' organization, says her nine-year-old son visits the Holmesburg branch because his school—which mainly serves an economically disadvantaged student body—does not have a library. In fact, only 37, or 48 percent, of the city's 77 elementary schools are staffed by certified media specialists. "Since students are being shortchanged in their schools, they turn to the Free Library of Philadelphia and their neighborhood branches," Lash explains.

Up to 150 children and library supporters recently held rallies outside of the Wyoming and Holmesburg branches in the hope of restoring the libraries' staffers and hours, but it doesn't look good.

"We have to maintain a balanced budget, and there've been cuts in many departments," Fee says. "[Creating express libraries] is the best way to continue to provide services to the maximum number of people."