The Boston Public Library revealed Wednesday in a public meeting the plan for its fiscal year 2011 budget and with it, a rough reality.
In its draft budget planning, BPL’s Board of Trustees showed that steep cuts in state funding could result in either the closing of eight to 10 neighborhood branches around the Boston metro area, or lead to a drastic reduction in hours of operation of 18 branches, a loss estimated at 600 hours per week.
Regardless of which of the two options will be selected, up to 35 full-time positions could be terminated in the neighborhood branches, but when considering the entire budget proposed cuts needed to fill the budget gap, 104 positions could be eliminated.
The Central Library in Copley Square is slated to remain open seven days a week from October through May and six during the summer, according to the budget plan.
Many at Boston University’s Mugar Memorial Library were saddened by the news of cuts.
“I’m against closing any library, anywhere in the world, at all, ever,” said Metropolitan College graduate student Doug Kierdorf.
A Mugar librarian who wished to remain anonymous strongly agreed.
“I would hate to see any library close down,” she said. “I have worked at a public library 20 years ago, and [funding] has always been a problem.”
In her opinion, it would be best to keep all branches open, even if only for one day a week, as one of the options in the BPL budget overview suggested.
“It’s a free place, and it is a free place for all ages,” she said. “It opens up a much larger area for young people to find a place to settle in and, even if they’re only reading the newspaper, to come in and learn and have a place to be.”
Mugar assistant and College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Melanie Kudra also said she believes it would be better for BPL to try and keep as many branches open as possible, even if for just a few hours a week.
“If they close some in certain areas, then less people will take the effort to travel farther to go to the library,” she said.
BPL serves as a resource not only to students and scholars, but also as a place for parents to bring their children to expose them to literature.
“I remember when I was little I always went to the library and I loved it,” Kudra said.
Some, however, said they believe it would be more efficient to have fewer library branches and compensate by increasing open hours at other libraries.
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences senior Nicole Santomauro said she would go more often to the BPL in Copley Square if it stayed opened later.
“That’s actually the reason why I don’t go there more, because I live really close,” she said.
BPL spokeswoman Gina Petrille said in an email that all these plans were still being discussed and that no particular branches had been identified for consolidation or closure yet.
“The meeting this morning was an early step in the BPL’s planning for the coming fiscal year. It is important to note that all the numbers we have are preliminary,” Petrille said.
A second public meeting is scheduled for Mar. 9 at the Copley Square branch, Petrille said.
“That March meeting is the next milestone in the continuing public conversation,” she said.
