PPL's Opportunities

an editorial by Dale Thompson & Mary Olenn
06/07/2006, Providence Journal

Here's one thing we know: Providence Public Library remains committed to providing public-library services -- access to information and opportunities for learning -- to the residents of Providence and all Rhode Island, through materials, staff support and centers for learning.

Here are the financial realities: For six years, the City of Providence has level-funded its municipal neighborhood-library system. When inflation is factored in, that amounts to a 20-percent decrease. Of course, the library understands that resources are limited; the city is cash-strapped. As a result, each year the library has augmented public funds to ensure preservation of neighborhood-library services. We have cut administrative costs 30 percent; we have increased allocation of private funds for municipal-library services. We have shifted as much money as possible away from infrastructure into direct services for Providence residents. We have cut hours, trimmed staff and aggressively raised funds to make sure city residents have access to libraries.

Yet each year the situation has gotten more dire, and we've come to the realization that the current library system is just not sustainable.

What can be done?

We start with one premise: Libraries and the services they provide are critical for all residents of Providence. One needs only to look at the outpouring of support at the pro-library rallies at the Central Library (May 8) and Knight Memorial Library (May 19). What a great testament to our staff and the hard work they put into maintaining library services year after year. The Library Strategic Planning Team has heard from hundreds of library patrons, city officials, and educators about the value of the library. In fact, residents want more from the library -- more hours, more books, more computers, more literacy training and more programs for children of all ages.

The challenge for Providence and the library is to shape a system that can meet those needs, not just in the short term but for future generations. While it would be an expedient solution to patch together another budget that merely applies Band-Aids here and there, or perhaps allocates a slight funding increase to get us through "just a few more months," the circumstances call for more responsible action.

One issue is quite clear. The aging infrastructure of the branch libraries would cost millions of dollars to renovate. Several buildings are outmoded, not handicapped-accessible, not able to be fully equipped with computers, and, in the case of Washington Park, just plain unsafe. Quite simply, we cannot afford to make the repairs.

And if the city allocated its precious resources to prop up these buildings, there would be even less money for operating costs: turning on the lights, staffing the branches, buying books, paying for heat.

What are the options?

We will continue to fight for city residents who rely on library branches (services) in their neighborhoods. We are determined to work with city officials to find innovative options, and to make sure that those options are implemented.

Libraries are necessary spaces in the community, but neighborhood-library services aren't only about buildings; they're also about materials -- books, DVDs, computers -- as well as competent, engaged staff and value-added services -- literacy and computer training, pre-school and after-school programs. Perhaps most important, neighborhood-library services are about access.

The library is committed to continuing to provide the value-added services. We already have extensive book, CD and DVD collections (although we'd like funds for more!). We are nationally recognized for our technology and early-childhood-learning programs. The city now must map out a budget, transition plan and delivery strategy for access to its municipal library services.

There are great examples of innovation:

• In Dallas, library patrons can have access to services during a trip to the supermarket.
• Joint-use public and school libraries are saving infrastructure costs and creating convenience for residents in California, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Illinois, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Missouri, Virginia and New Jersey.
• In Texas and Maine, library services are available at fire stations.
• In Redlands, Calif., a library is combined with an environmental learning center and museum.
• In Cleveland, state-of-the-art library kiosks are installed at the zoo, the airport and neighborhood community centers.

All these are possible for Providence -- especially now, as highways are being moved, schools are being built or remodeled, neighborhoods are shifting, and abandoned mills are being remodeled into housing. Each new development could include green space, parking and a learning center that incorporates library services. The Library Strategic Planning Team is studying demographics, population trends and development opportunities to determine ideal access points for library services.

The library stands ready to help the city make the transition into what can be an exciting network for delivering library services even more extensively than the existing branch model.

With the goal of maximizing access for all patrons, a new library network can combine strategically located anchor branches, joint school and library facilities, satellite locations, specific service access points, and varied delivery methods.

Decisions made in the short term need to reflect the city's transition to a long-term vision in which a sustainable municipal neighborhood-library system is incorporated as part of the city's Master Plan.

Dale Thompson is executive director of the Providence Public Library and Mary B. Olenn is chairwoman of its board of trustees.