Council Legislation Would Send $600K to Libraries

Pittsburgh City Council President Doug Shields says the Carnegie Library system is in crisis and the city can come through with a temporary fix. Shields introduced a bill in council Thursday that would send $600,000 to the library system this year. He is also planning to introduce a bill that would allocate an equal amount in next year’s budget. The money would be sent to the library system only if management promises to keep open for another year the four branches slated to be closed. Shields says the city budgeted for gas at $4.00 a gallon in this year’s spending plan and has seen big savings in that line item. The money for this year’s grant would come from that fund. Shields says he thinks he will be able to get the needed votes to pass the legislation. Last week nearly every councilmember weighed in during a council meeting in favor of finding a way to keep the branches open.