Library Company shareholders have voted for its merger with Temple University

The proposed merger of Temple University and the Library Company of Philadelphia moved closer to reality this week with a nod from the library’s shareholders.

Shareholders voted Tuesday 174 to 33 in favor of the deal, and the action was followed Thursday with approval by the executive committee and finance and investment committees of Temple’s board of trustees.

Its new name will be the Library Company of Philadelphia at Temple University, a division of Temple Libraries.

» READ MORE: Temple University-Library Company of Philadelphia merger moves ahead to next steps

But for that to happen, they must get approval for the merger from the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office and Philadelphia Orphans’ Court.

“We are delighted to help preserve one of Philadelphia’s most important educational and historical institutions through this partnership,” Temple President John Fry said in a statement. “This will help bring stability to the Library Company while also ensuring that its legacy does not just live on but also thrives. For Temple, this is also an opportunity to further enrich our academic and research resources.”

» READ MORE: Will Temple University and Library Company of Philadelphia become one? Merger talks are nearing completion.

Not much will change for the Library Company’s day-to-day operations, at least immediately. It will remain at its 1314 Locust Street location in Center City and keep its collections, staff, identity, mission and programming, Temple said. It will operate as its own division within Temple Libraries and maintain its own board of visitors.

The Library Company will gain access to Temple’s research arm, grant-writing help, facilities and administrative functions, the university said.

“The Library Company has been an important resource for Philadelphians for nearly 300 years, ever since Benjamin Franklin first envisioned a shared library as a tool for advancing the self-education of his circle of artisans and tradesmen,” John Van Horne, Library Company director, said in a statement. “I am certain that Franklin would heartily approve of our expanded education mission over the last few centuries, and I have no doubt that he would also approve of this partnership with a university dedicated to serving his city and beyond.”

The move comes after the Library Company, faced with a string of operating deficits, began exploring merger possibilities with a number of other institutions. Financial data given to shareholders showed substantial operating deficits for most years since 2017, as well as projections for deficits continuing into 2030.

Officials estimated that in order to remain independent, the company would need to raise $23 million to add to existing endowment.

Van Horne previously said that raising that kind of money would be “an incredibly steep hill to climb, and probably unrealistic.”

The library houses more than 500,000 rare books, manuscripts, prints, photographs, works of art, ephemera, and other objects. It boasts items once owned by Benjamin Franklin and William Penn, and has a concentration in African American and women’s history.

Some shareholders strongly preferred that the library ― founded in 1731 as the first subscription library in the U.S. ― would have remained independent, even as they recognized the current financial bind.

Shareholder Joel Gardner was philosophical about the merger.

“I think it’s the only solution the Library Company could find. We all have to keep our fingers crossed that it works out,” he said while declining to add how he voted.

It didn’t seem likely that the Library Company would be able to raise the money required to remain independent, he said, “in a city that is not notable for having a large number of philanthropists and depends on just a few of them.”

Michelle Flamer, a shareholder who in an Inquirer opinion piece mourned the impending loss of the company’s “historical identity,” said Thursday that the deal “seemed like it was a fait accompli, and there was not very much we could do about it.”

The Library Company also will be incorporated into the university’s fundraising plans, Temple said, though the merger agreement made no promises. It calls for including the Library Company in Temple’s upcoming capital campaign, “with the goal of raising $25 million in new endowed funds to permanently and exclusively support the LCP Division.”

“This is especially significant as the Library Company will soon celebrate its 300th anniversary in 2031, which presents a major opportunity for fundraising,” the university said in its announcement.