PROVIDENCE – Mayor David N. Cicilline has formally asked Providence Community Library (PCL), a newly-formed nonprofit group, to take over the management of the city’s nine neighborhood library branches starting July 1, the organization announced today.
In two letters sent last Thursday, Cicilline notified both PCL and the Providence Public Library (PPL) – the private nonprofit that has run the city’s library system for 130 years – that he intends to take control of the branches from PPL and transfer the city’s library funding, as well as administrative responsibilities for the branches, to PCL.
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PCL was formed after the PPL board of trustees voted in December to close five of the nine branches to close a budget deficit. In his letter to PCL, Cicilline said the new group had “demonstrated … a capacity to operate the nine branch community library system, which is a large and difficult undertaking, but will meet the City’s needs.”
The mayor has asked PCL’s leaders to meet with members of his administration to iron out a three-year contract that would lay the groundwork for the branch system’s transition from PPL to PCL, effective July 1. They will also meet with administrators at PPL, who have begun their own preparations for the transition.
The City Council, which must approve the transfer, is expected to sign off on the proposal. Cicilline said he wants “to ensure that services to the public are not disrupted and a seamless transition is implemented.”
PCL’s founders are Marcus Mitchell, president of PCL and also president of the Providence-based consulting firm Shere Enterprises; Patricia Raub, PCL’s vice president and a Providence College professor; Ellen Schwartz, PCL’s treasurer and a Certified Public Accountant in Providence; and Linda Kushner, PCL’s secretary and a former state representative whose seat was later held by Cicilline before his election as mayor. The group says it has won support from patrons’ groups and a number of politicians.
“We are very pleased to be able to help the City keep the nine branches open,” said Mitchell. “Of course, with less than two months until the transfer, there are an enormous number of things that must be done, and we are working hard to be ready for the deadline.”
PCL said it would begin the search immediately for a new library director to take over the system, which will employ roughly 70 people, most of whom are current employees at the nine branches. Last week PPL sent layoff notices to virtually all of its employees as the older organization prepares to get rid of the branches and refocus its attention on managing only the Central Branch on Empire Street.
In his letter to William Simmons, chairman of the PPL board, Cicilline suggested that the trustees and his administration should continue to discuss the future of the Central Branch.
Raub, PCL’s vice president, said the group is looking at using the vacant second floor of the Washington Park Library, which reopened in March after lengthy renovations, to house the new branch system’s administrative offices.
PCL said it hopes to undertake the “transfer of branch operations from PPL to PCL in a manner that will cause the least amount of disruption for library patrons and employees.”
Cicilline also thanked PCL’s leaders for their work. “Your efforts have been admirable and demonstrate how residents can make a positive difference in city government,” the mayor said.
Providence Community Library is a nonprofit established in 2008 by city residents to take over the support and management of Providence’s neighborhood library branches in the event that the city takes control of them from Providence Public Library. To learn more, visit ProvidenceCommunityLibrary.org.
For news and information about Providence, visit ProvidenceRI.com.
Providence Public Library is a 131-year-old private, nonprofit organization that serves as a public library for Providence. It also operates the Statewide Reference Resource Center, serving all Rhode Islanders with educational, cultural enrichment and economic advancement opportunities. To learn more, visit ProvLib.org.
