Pittsburgh Council Talks Libraries

Pittsburgh City Council members are all taking stands in support of keeping all of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh branches open. At a recent council meeting Council President Doug Shields told his fellow members that something needs to be done. He says when the city had to close pools it could be argued that pools are luxuries but he says libraries are a necessity. He says, “How can we be the G20 global city if we are intellectually bankrupt?” Shields noted that many adults cannot afford Internet access in their homes and their only link to that world is through a library and children get a solid foundation that serve them for the rest of their life when they use libraries. Councilwoman Theresa Smith says she is optimistic that with so many people working on a solution one will be found. To that end, Councilman Bruce Krauss says proposals to earmark a portion of the state tax revenues generated by table games for libraries will only help in the out years. He says there needs to be a solution for the problem today and he will be introducing a bill during the budget process to make that happen. Councilman Ricky Burgess says he supports libraries but while he is at the budget negotiation table he will have one clear question: Where will cuts be made to cover the additional spending? He says he will fight to make sure those cuts in city spending do not disproportionally fall on the poor. Councilman Patrick Dowd says, “This might be a ‘Line in the sand’ moment. The time when we say ‘enough is enough.’”