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Nov 23, 2009 4:23 pm US/Eastern
Tentative Agreement Reached To Delay Closures
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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Officials met downtown Monday to brainstorm ideas for how to stop the closing of four Carnegie Library branches.
KDKA
Public officials met with leaders of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
to discuss ideas regarding the library's funding problems.
"Costs
are increasing generally across the board," State Sen. Jay Costa,
D-Allegheny County, said. "In addition to that, you have a situation
where you have library funding at the state levels down a little bit.
The library funding from the local share is not what it needs to be."
Back
in October, library trustees voted to close four branches. The closings
were supposed to start in February, but on Monday, library officials
decided to delay the closures in order to give public officials more
time to come up with funding.
Library officials say they need
about $1 million in order to keep the Beechview, West End, Hazelwood
and Lawrenceville branches open through next year.
The money
would also stop the Carrick and Knoxville branches from merging and
would keep the Mount Washington branch in its current location instead
of moving to Virginia Avenue.
If officials do not come up with the money by February, the library says it will go ahead with the closures.
Costa says everything must be done to save the libraries.
"Libraries are simply essential to our communities. They really are the backbone and the fabric of our communities.
"
They are not the same libraries that we remember 20 to 30 years ago
where we had stacks of books. They are now centers where individuals
go, both kids and seniors and adults go for a variety of different
reasons," he said.
Meantime, Pittsburgh City Council gave initial approval to transfer $600,000 to the library system.
The city is getting the money from a surplus it has in its fuel account.
The account has a surplus because gas prices have come down in the last year.
Council takes a final vote next month.
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