Boston Public Library Documentation and Information

Where Does the Budget Gap Come From?

The budget gap comes from the city, which is cutting funding by $300,000, the state, which is cutting funding by $1.6M, and other sources (e.g., trust funds, donations, fine revenue, etc.), which are projected to fall $500,000. This $2.4M gap coupled with a projected increase of $1.2M in expenses creates the total gap of $3.6M

How Long Has the Budget Been Shrinking?

The city budget has fallen nearly $2M since FY09. The state budget has fallen $6.5M since FY09. Both are projected to fall farther in FY12

Why has State Funding Declined so Much?

State funding fell most dramatically in FY10. One of the state funding line-items, “The Library of Last Recourse (LLR)”, lost an earmark that dropped funding by $4.6M. The statute for this item suggests a funding level of $.50 per Massachusetts citizen (per capita), before FY10 the funding level was $1.17 and the FY10 budget dropped it to the recommended $.50. When library officials say that they no longer have power in the state house, this is the most dramatic example of this lost power. This year funding will be $.42 per capita and next year it is projected to be $.30 per capita, overall a nearly 75% reduction. This money is not meant to fund branch activities (see below).

What Else Has the State Taken Away?

The other funding loss is the “Boston Regional Library System” line item, a loss of nearly $1M. This funding was given to the BPL because it was an “administrator” of the Boston Regional Library System. The funding is going away because the Massachusetts Board of Library Comissioners is reorganizing the system and consolidating the 6 old regions into one single region with a new administrator.   It is not meant to fund branch activities.

Is This the State’s Fault?

The Library of Last Recourse and the Boston Regional Library System funds are not meant to support branch library services. According to the Massachusetts Board of Library Comissioners, the LLR funds are supposed to be used “to provide reference and research services for the Commonwealth in support of the research library at Copley.” According to the MBLC, The Regional Library System funds “may be used only to provide services to the member libraries of the regional area including: database licensing, delivery, continuing education, interlibrary loan. In our opinion, the state is not at fault for the loss of neighborhood branches, this is a decision by the trustees and the city to target the branches for cuts.

If the State is Taking Over the Regional Library System, is this Really a Loss?

In theory, no, this should not be a loss. In reality, it is unclear how much of these costs will be taken over by the state. Pres. Ryan has said that they do not make a distinction between these funds and funds that support branches. However, according to the last city budget glossary available online, the Regional funds work on a reimbursment system. The library must request reimbursment from the state, so these costs should be known. Also, the library’s budget has a personnel line item for “Boston Regional Library” that totals $550,000. Thus, $1.6M of the gap is money that should not be affecting the branches.

Even Without State Losses, Wouldn’t There Still Be A Gap?

Yes, there would still be $300K in a city gap that could likely be filled with city reserves. There would also still be a $527K from other lost sources of revenue, that could have been offset with more creative revenue stream creations. This decrease is $1.2M since FY09, with no change that we are aware of in how revenue is brought into the library. Lastly, there would be a $1.2M gap due to increased costs in FY11. We do not have enough information on this increase to determine whether contract negotiations or changes in spending could fill this gap.

My Library Just Got a New Roof, Did We Hurt the Other Branches?

No. The capital budget pays for things like renovations, new roofs, etc. and is completely separate from the operating budget of the BPL. Many libraries like the Jamaica Plain Branch and the East Boston Branch have been waiting for improvements to their buildings that would have given them many of the amenities that the leadership now claims are valuable to a branch deserving of the BPL name. We are hearing stories of empty promises from the city from many branches around the city and we believe this is a difference in priorities not money. The Brighton Branch is currently undergoing renovations. I have heard from some there that they cannot celebrate their new branch while they watch the branches around them die. We should be celebrating these improvements because our libraries deserve them and these are the improvements we should be making at our libraries, not cutting off branches that the leadership thinks are rotted. Also, no one has mentioned using capital budget money to fund the operating expenses of the library. Without such a proposal, skipping a new roof would not impact the closures and we should take as much money and as many improvements as they will give us.

Isn’t a Reduction of Hours a Good Compromise?

The current plan calls for the elimination of 69 positions at Central, a move that is being presented as non-negotiable, there is no second option. Both branch options (reduction of hours and closures) eliminate up to 35 full-time employees at the branches. These positions represent 104 people who work behind the scenes and who you have come to know at both the Central library and the branches. The plan also calls for leaving vacancies unfilled, putting future librarians in the area’s library science program at risk of unemployment or leaving the city. Without full funding from a source like the city reserves, unions will also likely be called upon for concessions and changes to their current contracts. Apart from being bad for the library, these cuts are bad for our neighborhoods. These students and workers are our neighbors, they care deeply for the library, and they deserve our support. The abandoned jobs will leave just as much of a void in our communities as the abandoned buildings.

They Are Cutting 104 Jobs, Isn’t that A Large Percentage of the Current Workforce?

Yes, it is 25% of the workforce and we are supposed to believe that this will magically ‘transform’ the library system into a better place. Meanwhile, no one has said that the 35 positions at the branches coupled with branch closures will actually result in a net-gain in employees per branch. No one has said how a library system whose usage is growing, whose books are stacking up – waiting to be shelved, and whose computers already have lines at many times throughout the day, will benefit by shrinking and consolidating services. We are just supposed to trust the leadership, just like Jeffries Point trusted that they would get a bookmobile, just like JP-Sedgewick trusted that they would get a renovated library, just like libraries all over the city have trusted that promises would be kept. There is no guarantee that this transformation is not just another empty promise, there is no guarantee that this plan will make anything better. We are just supposed to trust the leadership that has lead us to this problem.

With the Internet Around, Why Do We Even Have Paper?

Pretending that the internet is making libraries obsolete implies that the market forces that shape book store economics are the same forces that shape library usage and is a false assumption. Libraries are used by those who cannot afford to purchase books, whether they be digital or paper. Libraries are used by children who need libraries while at school and find their former basement/closet Boston Public School library completely shuttered. Libraries are used by teens who mentor and tutor other children. Libraries are used by the unemployed to find new jobs or seek out new educational programs. Libraries are used by the ederly who do not have internet service or still rely on dial-up services. 77 million users a year utilize library internet services. On Sunday March 28th, while we marched outside the BPL, people waited in line upstairs to use the internet. Libraries are used by people who read 3-4 books a month and still want to be able to afford their rent. In short library users and book buyers do not necessarily overlap. Book buyers and job seekers do not necessarily overlap. Book buyers and internet users do not necessarily overlap. Portions of Boston just got cable television service within the past 7 years, others do not have the resources to pay the Comcast monopoly $60 a month for internet service. We do not question that the government should educate us and we mandate school attendance. Why then do we question that the government should enable us to educate ourselves and why do we not mandate library services?

What is the Mayor’s Role in This?

The mayor appoints all of the trustees. The trustees are not vetted and are not confirmed by anyone. The trustees vote on the budget that goes to the city. Thus, it could be said that the mayor controls the budget that is sent to him. The mayor has also made his opinion clear, calling for the closure of branches (as well as community centers — schools are also at risk due to a budget gap). This is a choice that he has made despite the fact that he has the power (through city reserves) to fill the budget gap and he has a choice to push for cuts to state services instead. The mayor has also been the one constant in library leadership over his previous 4 terms. He had the power to examine how state funds were being used during this time and to suggest a funding structure that protected our neighborhoods if the libraries lost state money, offering up city resources as a source of support. Also, the problems we face now were not brought up until after his latest campaign for office, even though the library had lost vast sums of money in FY10 and the BPL executives were working on a FY11 BPL Action Plan that was presented to the trustees on November 17, 2009. Closures were not first brought to the table until January (at which time a $1.5M drop in funding from the city was projected) and we find it hard to believe that this is the first time anyone noticed the extent of the problem. If this plan goes through, this will be his legacy.

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