CLP Lands Grants

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh says its efforts to find new sources of funding have been paying off with a list of new grants. The library is facing multi-million dollar deficits as it begins to build its 2011 budget. Two of the grants will help the library preserve its Heritage collection. The collection is currently housed in the Allegheny Depository on the Northside and is in the process of being moved to the East Liberty branch, which is being renovated. The Eichleay Foundation has provided a $15,000 grant to support the relocation. An Anonymous donor has pledged $250,000 toward the purchase of compact shelving and additional materials to support this project. That grant was issued as a challenge grant that must be matched by August 2010. Library spokesperson Suzanne Thinnes says the library has always had good luck matching such grants with private donations. The Heritage Collection includes more than 150,000 volumes, including many unique historic reference items that preserve the heritage of the Western Pennsylvania region. Among the documents are government documents and histories, Civil War materials, rare print editions of local newspapers and journals, various directories, oversized maps, art folios, sciences and social sciences serial titles, and state and US reference volumes. Some date back to the 1600’s.
In addition to those two grants, the Laurel Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to support the Library’s Basic Computer Training Lab. He funds will be used to offer free classes. The library has also landed a PA Conservation Grant Works provided for capital needs at the East Liberty branch. The $224,500 grant will be used to add energy efficient features to the building including upgrades to the building’s roof, walls and windows. The walls will be super-insulated with a combination of rigid and batt insulation. The existing windows will be replaced with high performance thermally broken low-e insulated glass, which allows for environmental and energy benefits. The building is expected to reopen this fall.

Council OK's Additional $600K for Libraries

Pittsburgh City Council passed legislation today sending $600,000 to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The funds amount to a second payment from the city in return for a promise from the library to not close any branches this year. CLP had originally planned to close four libraries and reduce hours at the remaining facilities but put that on hold for another year when Pittsburgh City Council said it could find $600,000 in unspent funds in its 2009 budget and the same amount in the 2010 budget. Library Spokesperson Suanne Thinnes says the library still faces a funding gap for 2011 and the library board is looking for ways to close that gap. Thinnes says even the promise of additional revenues from the tax on table games in Pennsylvania will not be enough to close the gap. That tax is expected to generate about $850,000 for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Library Board Votes on Hold

When the Board of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh meets this afternoon they will take up several weighty issues including a vote to delay portions of the “Action Plan” it adopted October 5, 2009. That plan called for small changes such as higher fees and fines and major changes such as closing four branches. Library spokesperson Suzanne Thinnes says while many aspects of the plan will stay in place, the $600,000 approved by Pittsburgh City Council will allow the library to “defer” the closures. Thinnes says the additional funds will buy the library more time to lobby Harrisburg for additional funding. Council President Doug Shields has promised to slip another $600,000 into the 2010 budget, which is yet to be finalized. It is unclear how much time the additional money buys the libraries. At a meeting with state legislators November 23rd the president of the library board said she would like to have a firm commitment for state funding in hand by February. The board will take a vote on the 2010 budget today despite not having final numbers from the state or the city.

The Board also expects to consider the public’s request to hold open meetings. Thinnes says it is on the agenda for discussion, but it will not necessarily be voted on today. She says, “As a Public Trust, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is not required to hold open meetings but understands the community’s interest in board decisions.” Thinnes says it is public support that gives the library hope that lobbying efforts in Harrisburg will be more fruitful in 2010 than they have been in the past. Knowing that the public is very interested in the issues facing the board this month, the board will hold a public forum at 4 o'clock in the Carnegie Lecture Hall in Oakland before heading into the closed-door meeting. A maximum of 25 speakers will be allowed. Speakers had to sign up last week, but Thinnes says anyone is welcome to come to listen.

Library Allotted $600,000

Pittsburgh City Council unanimously approved legislation to transfer a $600,000 council surplus towards the $1.5 million Carnegie Library deficit. Suzanne Thinnes, Carnegie Library Communications Manager, says they are thankful to receive the money. She says it’s the concerned community members that discussed the lack of funds with city officials that pushed the money through. Thinnes says they need more long-term funding now in order to close the remaining gap, in order to not have the deficit reoccur every year.
There will be more community forums in the Hazelwood, Beechview, West End and Lawrenceville neighborhoods later this week and next week about getting the remaining money. Thinnes says these meetings will be two-way discussions between concerned residents and library officials.

CLP Board Chair Will Ask Members to Hold Closures

Several state, county and Pittsburgh elected officials gathered in the regional enterprise tower this morning in an effort to find a way to keep the four Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh branches open for at least another year. The Library says it needs about one million dollars to keep the branches open in 2010. State Senator Jay Costa called the meeting. He says, “The task is now in our hands. The public officials need to work … to be able to develop the proceeds we need to keep them open.” Library Board Chair Jacqui Fiske Lazo says she will ask the board at its December meeting to put the closures on hold while the elected official look for the needed cash. She says if legislation is not in place by the February board meeting they will need to move forward with all portions of the cost saving plan. She says, "A check would be best. But we need some sort of firm commitment. We understand there is a process that the public officials need to go through. We would like to respect that." Costa is pushing for the use of table game revenues to fund the library’s shortfall next year. Legislation being debated in Harrisburg would give one percent of the taxes generated by expanded gaming to the host county and one percent to the host municipality. He says that would put about $860,000 into to city’s coffers and he would like to talk about how much of that would go to the libraries. Costa says he would like to see a portion of the county’s take to be earmarked for suburban libraries.

Costa’s money would only keep the libraries open for 2010. Lazo says the budget gap will grow to $2 million in 2011 and continue to get larger in the out years. To deal with the growing number Costa is putting together a taskforce to look at long term solutions. He says the taskforce would be made up of elected officials, library staff and community representatives. He says they need to take a look at more private funding, the city and state’s roll in the funding mix and how libraries of the future should look and be run. The Senator says the taskforce would spend the better part of 2010 grappling with those issues.

Officials Meet Monday on Library Funding

State and city of Pittsburgh elected officials will meet with members of the Carnegie Library Board Monday morning to discuss short-term and long-term funding solutions to avert library branch closings.
Earlier this fall, the Library Board announced plans to shut down branches in Lawrenceville, Hazelwood, Beechview and the West End and merge those in Knoxville and Carrick because of a projected $1.2 million shortfall in 2010. That led to criticism from those communities and politicians.
State Senator Jay Costa of Allegheny County says he wants a promise from the Library Board "that if we in fact are able to get resources for the next year, that they will make a commitment on December 14 at the Board meeting to defer the implementation of the branch closure part of their plan to allow us to engage in discussions over the next year to address our long-term needs."
Costa says those long-term needs are funding and accountability because the library system faces a $6 million deficit over the next several years..."we'll be looking to the state, the city, the corporate community and private citizens to put together a long-term funding stream that allows as many communities as possible to receive library services."
A spokeswoman says the Library Board is willing to defer the closures if agreement can be reached on funding for 2010 and a long-term dedicated funding source.
He says something has to change including the structure of the system "do we need a large facility?"
Costa says he's hopeful that they will come out of Monday's meeting with a consensus of "here's where we're at, here's what our respective responsibilities are, and go from there."

CLPGH Gets Grant to Digitize

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has picked up a 600-thousand dollar grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to tackle a massive digitizing project. The money will be used to first catalog and then digitize the library’s iron and steel collection. The materials dating back to the 1800’s are housed at the Allegheny depository on the north side. Library director Barbara mistick says the more than 400-thousand pages in the collection need to be preserved because the space is not climate controlled and already about 20% of the collection is “too fragile to touch.” Once the items are digitized they will be put on line where readers can add annotations to the collection. Along with books about steelmaking the collection holds catalogs from area steelmakers.

CLPGH Shows Off New Hill Digs

The building at the corner of Centre Avenue and Kirkpatrick Street is set to open Oct. 25 with a kick off event that will feature August Wilson’s play cycle. It is the first new library opened by the system since 1980. The $3.15 million project will replace a basement branch at Centre and Dinwiddie Street that the library now rents from Allegheny Union Baptist Association. To help highlight playwright August Wilson’s ties to the Hill District on wall of the building will hold a 10’ by 7’ map with 12 numbered sites, each corresponding to a location in on of the plays. The building is silver LEED certified. Among the green aspects of the building is the use of natural light, "low emissivity" glass windows, a roof made of reflective rubber, and the use of recycled materials throughout the building. The building is part of the "Libraries for Life" capital campaign which has completed 7 others projects. Library officials say the hill branch along with other recent projects in the neighborhood shows the “new face” of Center Avenue.