Guards required in Phila. Libraries
The new mandate is seen by critics of Mayor Nutter as a precursor to another shut-down attempt.
Philadelphia's public libraries can no longer open without a guard present, according to an internal Free Library e-mail obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Free Library says it's to ensure staff and patron safety but unions and library advocates believe it's an effort to find new ways to close libraries.
For years, Philadelphia libraries have opened without guards present, library union officials said.
The new rule, like the library's recently instituted requirement to have four workers present to open a branch instead of the customary three, is seen by some in the contentious fight over libraries as another attempt by the Nutter administration to find a way to close branches. The change was effective as of Tuesday.
"Every 15 minutes it's a new story," Amy Dougherty, executive director of the Friends of the Free Library, said yesterday.
Sandy Horrocks, a spokeswoman for library director Siobhan Reardon, disagreed. She said the change was made only to keep libraries safe and clean. (Guards also clean branches.)
She added that the library system was hampered because it is down 11 guards. When the administration tried to close 11 libraries late last year, it transferred those guards to other city duties.
A judge compelled the administration to keep the libraries open. But Horrocks said the guards could not be recalled because the library had to slash its budget by 20 percent and could no longer afford them.
Click Here for complete article by Alfred Lubrano (Inquirer Staff Writer)
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