What are my grandchildren gonna go after walking 6 blocks to only find the library is closed. They will be going directly to the library from school, are they saying they must call 311, OMG

http://phillyneighborhoods.org/

She clearly cares nothing about what Philadelphians care most about, our branch libraries.

And she clearly cannot be trusted to tell the truth about what she is doing.

She has no business being in charge of one of the jewels of our city, the Free Library.

Nutter needs to make a fresh start again with the libraries.

The city sends cops out alone on patrol, cuts the number of active fire companies, and our schools are understaffed, but *libraries* are where they're going to make their stand on safety?

Get real. This is clearly a retaliatory move.

That being noted, increasing staffing numbers as part of a comprehensive plan which might also included some libraries being open fewer days per week could be a viable solution in the short term.

But there's no mention of that, no indication this is a move which is part of a bigger plan to help the libraries stay open. It's just a slap in the face to library supporters, city residents and the union.

This

Because libraries may be closed with little warning, administrators said yesterday that patrons may dial 311 to find out whether a branch is open.

is definitely an Onion-type take on the news.

But I actually heard that the money hasn't even been transferred out of the library budget yet, but these closings are happening nonetheless.

Can anyone confirm this? I really really hope this isn't true.

The timing of this all is simply too bizarre. It is like when the Mayor held a press conference right at the recess of the Court hearing, so people could walk right down the hall.

And it continues:

Seems to me that everybody here needs to step back and try to see the picture as Mayor Nutter with his mayoral obligations has to see it. The budget is limited and Street screwed him by factoring casino money into it without being sure it would be here, and guess what? Its not! Where else is money being cut in the budget to keep the branches open? You do have to commend the Mayor for making zero cuts to school funding and I doubt that Nutter does not understand the importance of our libraries and fire houses.

The fact is that before this attack, the libraries were already in trouble due to low funding which was due to the other cause of the libraries' troubles: lack of use due to lack of interest in reading.

Therefore what is needed is a creative community-based solution that saves the libraries from the immediate threat of closure and the long-term threat of abandonment. If community members volunteered to fill the spots city hall requires they would not be able to close the branches based on staffing requirements. Once the branches remain open, the communities that fought to preserve them need to fight to bring their stability back with regard to community interest in and use of the libraries.

I hear a lot of complaining to power but little action to solve problems. If the city can't provide us with access to knowledge then action has to happen. It runs the gambit from opening your own community libraries to stepping up and volunteering to doing nothing besides making a stink and hopefully making it a big issue in Philadelphia politics in the future.

I just don't want to see the libraries survive this only to be forgotten and scrapped from the budget entirely in a decade.

Look, I have been saying from the beginning that Riordan (and Nutter) are not acting rationally nor within legal confines.

Riordan needs to be more than fired.

She needs to be made an example of: city administrators WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to carry out their unilaterally-decided and un-public service-like goals by being "haters" and blatantly discriminating against protected classes of their constituents.

Hang this woman out to dry, already. Sue the crap out of her with every legal theory that has substance. Keep her so busy that she HAS to let something on her plate go...

Get me a PA licensed attorney, and I will write the actions...

p.s. Turno, do you work for Riordan? Just curious, because there really is no substance to what you just said--its already been discussed what really happens at the libraries Riordan wants to close, and the general conclusion does not really mesh with what you are saying. Are you trying to distract the conversation...?

The thinking or lack thereof is that by intentionally gumming up the works and making system-wide reductions in service as painful and vindictive as possible that they will turn library users from other branches against the 11. Instead yet more people will get angy at the apparent incompetence on Riordan's part and Nutter is just going to make this mess get bigger and bigger.

Frankly I'm shocked at the pettiness, vindictiveness and sheer stupidity of this move. And its not like there isn't a paper trail for changing the number of library staff requirements for you to be made an ass over when the thing finally goes in front of Council.

I'm shocked at how hell-bent Nutter seems at shooting himself in the foot over this.

-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.

Perhaps that's half of Nutter's strategy--to leave us so shocked and amazed at his stubborn maneuvering that we stand there stunned like deer in headlights and failing to engage him, failing to take control of the language and tone of this conversation, and failing to demand accountablility, equity, and ethical representation from our elected representatives.

We can research all their justifications and explanations of their crazy new tactics 'til its too late to actually open the closed door. I am convinced that's exactly the strategy Sneerdon and Nutter are relying on.

I agree that having the truth about who said what and when is helpful, but, in this situation, I think that is putting the cart before the horse: the research-or verification, really, of the facts should occur AFTER the initiation of an assertion of control over the conversation. Otherwise, Nutter's just going to continue being successful at having us p;ssing on ourselves in the wind.

>>At the least, I "man up" by signing my own name to my thoughts and positions.

Wow, so this is a contest of manhood. Thanks for conceding that.

Of course, conceding isn't very manly. But with two wars and a recession, what are ya gonna do?

"these libraries are in the poorest neighborhoods of the city. closing these libraries specifically will disproportionally affect low-income children and families."

Coincidence or not, in the case of Fishtown the library slated for closure also happens to be in a neighborhood that did not support Nutter in the primary. I do not know how Brendan's area of West Philly voted, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that it was for Fatah.

Clearly we have retaliatory games going on here. No one seems able to explain why small cuts in operating hours cannot be made across the board in ALL neighborhoods to support the other 11 libraries.

It also seems strange to start the budget cuts on the backs of poor kids when so many other areas seem like more lucrative targets--uncollected fees, taxes, admin waste, government vehicles, etc.

One would think that wealthier areas--such as those lovely neighborhoods in Mt Airy that were Nutter strongholds-- would better be able to lose library services due to their higher rates of internet access, better school facilities, etc.

One thing is clear, the Mayor is losing support among donors and activists who helped him win the primary, many of whom--such as myself and Lutton-- are the very people writing on this board.

Steve Hach
Fishtown

I've been watching this whole library fiasco play out in my neighborhood, on the internets, and in our local newspapers, and I have been noticing something interesting.

At almost every rally i have gone to, speakers have brought up their experiences volunteering for mr. Obama and the campaign slogan "yes we can". many have spoken about taking control of their own destinies and neighborhoods. many have said the experience of organizing left them feeling empowered, and ready to move forward. I think the most powerful statement i heard was "Obama showed us the way, and now we have to continue to move forward."

As anyone who attended the "save the libraries" rally knows, some of our local pols show up. I enjoy watching their faces when ordinary people bring up what they learned during the campaign: it is an expression of unease and worry, because people are getting impatient with the same-old/same-old, and that they not only expect change, they DEMAND to be included in the process. And maybe, just maybe, someone's job in government may be threatened if the people get angry enough. Frankly, i'd be worried too.

So I'm not surprised to see councilman kenney lobbing charges of disrespect and personal attacks, as if no one on council would ever stoop to saying anything disrespectful about each other. Are the councilman's questions sincere?

Do you have a television? Do you read the papers? Did you miss the more than year long worldwide economic recession?

Or are they more similar to sarcasm, a form of personal attack meant to undermine the speaker?

"He said something mean to me", mr. kenney, is a distraction, and a particularly ironic one given that you start out saying "I know this is a total wasted effort". The topic is "what can we do to stop the mayor from shutting the libraries". You're no stranger to heated political debate in council, and you've even gone out of your way to attack the previous mayor. why do you have such a problem with it coming from the people affected by the mayor's decisions?

I have a lot of respect for Councilman Kenney (I'm a big advocate for 3-1-1 centers), but I have to say that his response is troubling.

We are (for the most part) adults and we all understand that there's a budget crisis. But... What does a budget crisis have to do with increasing the staffing requirements at the libraries? How can you say with a straight face that this has anything at all to do with the budget?

If you can answer that riddle without insulting our intelligence then I applaud you, because the answer seems quite simple really: this is Old Philly Politics at its finest.

BTW- what ever happened to that L&I reform the mayor promised? I bet you could squeeze 8 million out of that beast.

When Nutter was running for Mayor he used to say "That smoke you'll see coming from next to City Hall the day after I'm in office will be L&I being blown to the ground", instead that smoke is just the byproduct of all the BS piling up in that office.

Councilman Kenney,

Why don't you use some of those professionalized governing strategies and techniques as practiced at the Fels School instead of running away?

Surely you have this data handy since you assure us of your expertise on these budget matters?

Most people here possess advanced degrees from a variety of universities in relevant fields and are easily convinced via accurate data and cogent argument.

But, neither you nor the Mayor are making such arguments. You are saying "my way or the highway," operating in the shadows, and insulting our intelligence.

I note again that the cuts are aimed at areas that did not support Nutter overall--even though I live in Fishtown and was a big supporter.

Poor kids were the first target, not the fearsome FoP or some other strong constituency.

As noted above, if this is truly the emergency you claim and the proposal is rationally based on budgeting and usage, then the Mayor would close his childhood library in his "nice neighborhood" rather than Kingsessing's or Fishtown's.

If you are so conversant in budgeting, please explain why none of the other proposals make sense with actual data rather than whining about meanies on the internets.

Here, I'll even sign my name again to prove my manhood:

Steve Hach
Fishtown

It’s become clear that this isn’t a case of making tough decisions during difficult times. It’s really a case of obscuring unpopular decisions by envoking difficult times.

And I think that’s the thing that stings the most: the attempt to pull the wool over our eyes.

If Mayor Nutter wanted to have an open discussion of the efficiency and efficacy of the library system, then that’s worth having. But to pull the recession card as an excuse to achieve objectives derived for reasons other than temporary budget issues is, well, dishonest.

It's not dissimilar to the build up to the Iraq war - now that Councilman Kenney brings it up. They told us we had to do something, and the reasons given to us were invalid or irrelevant.