Maybe you have read or heard the reports over the past couple weeks about the Providence Public Library’s downtown branch.
Or maybe you haven’t.
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There doesn’t seem to be much outrage over the fact that pink slips are expected to be flying at the library and that the operative words there seem to be “downsize” or “consolidate.”
The same ugly economy that has seen so many manufacturers close their doors or move south, so many tech firms go belly up and so many managers transformed into “consultants” is catching up with the capital city’s library system.
In recent years, the city has basically been able to level-fund its libraries. But these days, books cost more. So do CDs and computers. So do all of those things that a library so generously offers to share with its patrons. And people have had less to give. Just ask someone in the business of raising money for a nonprofit. That has to be a big factor in all of this.
But whatever the reason, downtown’s Central Branch – at the corner of Washington and Empire streets – is poised to take a serious blow as a result.
Maureen Sheridan, the Providence Public Library’s director of institutional advancement, was kind enough to return my call the other day.
But Sheridan wasn’t prepared to talk in any detail about the fiscal crisis the library is facing. Library officials, she said, are in the process of developing a strategy. They would be more willing to talk about it, she said, in the coming days.
“We’re going to be here,” she said.
Initial reports suggest that as many as one-half of the library’s 100 employees may lose their jobs. Space is being consolidated.
The idea is to close the Washington Street entrance that has been open for about 20 years and reopen the Empire Street entrance. The library, under the current plan, would operate more like a smaller, community branch. You could still drop by and discover that classic novel you haven’t read in a while or the latest best seller.
It almost sounds nice.
Until you get to really thinking about it.
And when you do, you are left to wonder about other materials, programs, services and special events that have made the library such an important part of downtown for so long.
Small, community libraries are terrific for Mount Pleasant or the East Side or any of the other neighborhoods that surround the capital city. But they are not enough for downtown.
The Central Branch should be more than that – bigger than that. The downsizing of the downtown library should not be happening in the “Renaissance City.”
So much good has happened in Providence in the past few years. Waterplace Park emerged, along with Providence Place. A beautiful corridor has emerged along South Main Street.
And in the old core of the city too. The renaissance develops slower there, but it’s happening just the same. So many old buildings are being restored, converted into luxury apartments and condominiums.
The Providence Performing Arts Center and Trinity Rep have been joined by the Providence Black Repertory Company and other arts venues. And restaurants – new and old – continue to be a draw.
And there’s more to come.
Stanley Weiss – after many years of trying – is getting his boutique hotel built at the corner of Mathewson and Westminster streets. GTECH is building its headquarters here, it looks like the old Masonic Temple will finally be transformed into a luxury hotel. RISD is moving forward with a new building and even the Dunkin’ Donuts Center appears poised to undergo a major renovation.
All of this and the downtown library is getting smaller? That just doesn’t seem right.
I visited the Central Branch last Saturday afternoon. That it has been operating on a tight budget is obvious. To an untrained eye, much of the carpeting looks like it should to be replaced. Some fresh paint would be a big help. It is a tired, weathered building.
But there too is the impressive marble, the majestic columns and high ceilings. The building has character – a certain dignity to it.
Cities like Providence need a big, active library. If I were a student or a young professional buying into one of those condominiums or apartments, I would expect nothing less.
As long as we continue to invest in downtown, then the public library needs to be a part of that investment. Because if this in fact a “Renaissance City,” then I should be writing about the downtown library getting bigger – not smaller.
