Lack of openness over library closings cited

Described as being uncharacteristically inaccessible, the Nutter administration is catching flak for not sharing the statistics and thought process behind its decision to close 11 libraries.

"We have been asking for the data since last Wednesday," City Councilman Bill Green said yesterday. "Unfortunately, we've been unable to get it.

"This is unusual for them. This administration has been terrific in the past."

Without access to the statistics the administration used, City Council and others cannot judge whether the conclusion to shutter 11 of the library system's 54 branches to save $8 million was the right one, Green said.

"It's simply a question of them putting the information in an e-mail and sending it to us," he added. "Frankly, I don't know why they don't."

Asked to comment, Mayor Nutter's spokesman Doug Oliver e-mailed a response last night that read: "We respectfully disagree" with the assertion that the administration has not been forthcoming with the process used to decide which libraries to close.

"We have regularly articulated the criteria we used to make our decisions," the statement said. "The primary consideration has been the geographic proximity to another library and walkability."

The administration has said that each of the 43 libraries that will remain open after the 11 are closed will not be more than two miles apart.

Without sharing any of the data Green asked for, Oliver concluded that "we are confident that we have made smart choices and we stand by the criteria we used to reach our decision, as well as the savings associated with the necessary closures."

Councilman Frank DiCicco also has asked for the data on which the administration based its decision to close 11 libraries, said Brian Abernathy, director of policy and public affairs for DiCicco.

"That information has not been delivered, but we do expect it to come in a timely manner."

Green added that he believes there may be a way to save $5 million of the $8 million, and that the administration's calculations are off.

"Those numbers are not correct," said Green, who wrote an op-ed piece in The Inquirer Thursday that criticized Nutter's approach to the fiscal crisis.

Yesterday, Green said that eliminating 30 library administrative positions, curtailing book purchases and reducing library hours could help save $5 million.

Green's disappointment in the administration's actions is shared.

"It's very frustrating not to be in a position to speak with full information on where the administration is coming from," said Mike Schaedle, president of the board of the Friends of the Free Library of Philadelphia, a nonprofit that serves as a liaison between the public and library administration.

"To date, there hasn't been a process. There has simply been an announcement. Planning should move forward in a transparent fashion. That would be better and fairer."

Green and Schaedle independently urged the administration to share in granular detail any information about library usage, neighborhood density, condition of facilities and other factors used in its decision making.

Both Green and Schaedle stressed that they do not want to enter into an adversarial relationship with the administration.

"We all remain willing to work with the administration and the mayor, who is historically a great friend to the library system," Schaedle said.

Meanwhile, the administration's opaque approach is inspiring angst among library workers, who find themselves speculating about the future in an information vacuum.

"We're hearing from panicked librarians," said Friends director Amy Dougherty.

Several have told Dougherty that layoff notices will be sent out Dec. 8 and that the closing of the branches will run from Dec. 15 through Jan. 15.

Library union officials did not return calls for comment.

Oliver of the mayor's office said that no exact date has been set for shuttering libraries. He added that any layoffs and closures would occur after the first of the year.

In a related matter, Dougherty and Green said that efforts are being made to research the early-20th Century deeds of the four so-called Carnegie libraries that are set for closure.

The libraries - Holmesburg, Logan, Kingsessing and Haddington - were built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

Dougherty said colleagues of hers are working to determine whether anything in the original deeds precludes the libraries' closure.

A Carnegie library that isn't set for closure - Walnut West - was discovered to have a deed that restricts its building's use to being a library only, Dougherty said.