PPL posts $85,827 deficit for fiscal ’07

PROVIDENCE – The Providence Public Library’s expenses outpaced its income last year by $85,827, according to the PPL’s unaudited report for the fiscal year ended June 30.
Revenue for the year came to $8.96 million. Of that total, 51 percent came from public funds, 37 percent from private funds, 11 percent from the state Reference Resource Center and 1 percent from fees and fines, the library said.
The City of Providence provided the PPL with $3.25 million, while the State of Rhode Island provided $1.29 million in grants and $970,322 for the Reference Resource Center the library runs on its behalf.
The library’s endowment contributed $2.50 million; private grants, $585,369; gifts, donations and bequests, another $33,709; the Ocean State Libraries reimbursement, $257,329; and fees and fines brought in $71,492. (The library today announced $173,155 in new technology grants from The Champlin Foundations. READ MORE.)
Expenses for the year came to $9.05 million. Salaries and benefits for the 167-person staff accounted for $6.42 million or 71.0 percent of the total. Books and materials costs came to $761,557; library supplies, $328,724; general and administrative costs, $512,223; utilities, $374,275; security services, $147,740; and facilities maintenance, $500,388.
During the year, the library’s 10 branches – the Washington Park Branch is open in a temporary space at the Washington Park Foundation, where part-time after-school services are being provided – were visited by 1 million patrons, who borrowed 814,253 items. Twenty thousand of those items were borrowed by local teachers for use in the classroom.
The PPL’s reference staff fielded 128,143 questions from the public via telephone, e-mail or in person.
The library’s public computer workstations were used 238,644 times, and the PPL Web site was accessed 1.22 million times. Patrons retrieved more than 1.20 million pages through the library’s electronic subscription services.
More than 3,400 students attended the 740 adult and youth computer classes hosted by the PPL over the year. The PPL’s early childhood programs were attended by 25,590 people over the course of the year; school-age programs by 33,321; young adult programs by 4,253; adult programs by 19,884; and family or family literacy programs by 9,096 people.
“PPL and its community of users enjoy and benefit from a level of private support which is unmatched nationwide,” the library wrote in its report. “This year, through PPLF [Providence Public Library Foundation] support, the library has made significant strides in providing patrons with even more services through the Internet … such as online Homework Help; Book Lovers, an instant reader advisory service; and an array of downloadable books and material.
“Meanwhile, donor support through the PPLF continues to be essential to maintaining award-winning programs like Cradle to Crayons, which prepares our youngest patrons to enter school ready to learn.”
The Providence Public Library is a 130-year-old private, nonprofit organization that serves as a public library for the City of Providence, providing free information resources, education and community services. It also operates the Statewide Reference Resource Center, serving all Rhode Islanders with educational, cultural enrichment and economic advancement opportunities. To learn more, visit www.provlib.org.