As reported in the SF Examiner, SF is instituting a Branch Improvement Project for their libraries currently, despite facing a budget shortfall.

Last month, during the financial crisis, the city realized that their stipulation that the branches be environmentally friendly required more money, so they passed a bond measure for their library branches.

This is a question not of whether to cut... but how.

Since the Mayor's stated goals are to reduce crime in this city and to provide afterschool programs, I don't understand how permanently closing 11 or more library branches is supposed to achieve those aims. In fact, it is the exact opposite of what we should be doing.

This should be the time to increase funding for libraries. The cuts are so much worse for the Free Library than any other department in the city. It is counterintuitive.