Whose library is it, anyway? (continued)

ONE OF THE MOST contentious arguments is about the facts of the dispute. For example, when the library indicated last May that cutbacks were in the works, employees say they were told in staff meetings that layoffs might reach nearly 60 out of 200 jobs.

Maureen Sheridan, a library spokeswoman, told the Phoenix that the number might be as high as 50, but possibly lower. When the final number turned out to be 21, Thompson told the ProJo, "I don’t know where that number of 60 came from." "For her to say this means she is either completely incompetent or an outright liar," charged a writer identifying him or herself as "renegade reporter TrueCrime" in a posting on the "Library Defense" Web site.

There have been similar exchanges about funding. Library officials told reporters that "level-funding" from the city and state meant an overall shortfall, since the same dollars this year as last year wouldn’t cover growing expenses. But the 33 former librarians signing the July 7 protest letter contend the finances "have been misrepresented," because state aid to the Providence library has more than doubled in the past five years.

Both sides have a basis for their interpretations.

For example, state’s appropriation for the Reference Resource Center has remained relatively stable. The grant, which began at $822,484, has remained at $880,110 since being boosted in 2001.

The other major source of state money is a grant equal to 25 percent of its municipal support, a subsidy offered all community libraries. The Providence Public Library’s basic grant has grown from about $650,000 in 2000 to $734,000 in the latest fiscal year, according to the state’s library services Web site.

What’s more, Providence last year got a substantial boost when the General Assembly allowed it to credit money from its private endowment, adding about $640,000 to the basic grant, for a total grant of $1.4 million. (The endowment benefit has extended to all libraries, but only Providence and Westerly have endowments big enough to make much of a difference.)

In any case, Providence is indeed "level-funded" this year compared to last year. And its Reference Resource Center grant has been flat for the past four years. But viewed in the context of a number of years, Providence has seen its state allocation jump substantially. The funding debate does not, of course, solve the ultimate problem of whether the PPL has enough money, or whether it is using its funds wisely.

One expense that particularly upsets library workers is growth of executive salaries. According to public IRS nonprofit tax forms, Dale Thompson’s salary has climbed from $99,962 in 1998 to $136,957 in 2002, the latest year available. And all five top executive salaries required to be listed on the federal form total $493,000, a hefty chunk of an operating budget of about $8.2 million.

In light of the continuing financial problems — and the curbing of 21 service-oriented jobs — executive pay hikes seem high to the critics. But Thompson says that her and other administrators’ pay now come from endowment and private giving. Previous library statements say that Thompson earns less than leaders of "comparable" Providence cultural groups, and that her pay is "on a par with other nonprofits in the region."

Meanwhile, the janitors’ union also questions the library’s fiscal judgment. The United Service & Allied Workers of Rhode Island claims the library is going ahead with outsourcing the janitors’ work even though the union’s alternative plan would save the library more money.

Karen McAninch, union business agent, says the union plan would save $166,000 a year, slightly more than the library’s notion, through two voluntary layoffs, a wage freeze, and elimination of Saturday overtime. Further, thousands of dollars in severance would be saved by keeping the janitors, she says. But after months of negotiations, the library in late July spurned the union offer.

McAninch says the union will pursue its case with the National Labor Relations Board, charging anti-union "animus and bargaining with the intention of not reaching an agreement." Further, the union will ask the subcontractor to offer jobs to the current workers.

Thompson acknowledges, "The union did make proposals," but she says, "They did not, in the end, meet the library’s needs," and that the library didn’t violate labor laws.

AS THE LIBRARY STORY unfolds with its several plot and philosophic twists, it is not clear how the final chapter will turn out.

"I don’t think we are going to let this go down without a huge fight," says Johnson, the Cranston librarian. And the protesters who — by their training and inclination can be a tough bunch — are well prepared for a fight waged with data and words.

Further, city and state officials are now likely to look closely at library affairs. The Providence City Council’s resolution requires the city’s finance director and the library administration to "report" to the council finance committee before every quarterly payment of the city’s $3 million annual contribution.

Likewise, Anne Parent, the state’s chief of library services, says that her office will be negotiating a new annual contract for the Statewide Reference Resource Center, and she will want to know how the library plans to provide services in light of the changes.

More importantly, the General Assembly created a 20-member commission this session to study the state’s library system, and both Parent and Thompson say they welcome the inevitable discussion of Providence library’s role. "That study can look at the state’s share and support of the library, and what services can be expected for that share," Parent says.

Members of the protest movement acknowledge it could be difficult to sustain the debate, now that the cutbacks have been made. By the same token, though, the library cannot operate with long-term public dissatisfaction.

Not only does the library depend on taxpayers for a big part of its funds, it needs support from citizens and corporations. And even to continue operating its scaled-back operating plans, the library says it will seek an extra $1 million in donations this year.

For some of those directly involved, it already seems too late.

The anonymous librarian who lost her job last month must find new work. Moreover, she’ll will miss working with the skilled staff assembled by the library over the years. "One of the things I learned working at the Providence Public Library was how important service is," she says. "I feel so lucky to have worked in the reference department with librarians who are so committed, and dedicated, and will go literally to the end of the earth to find what patrons need."

Mike Perry, one of the janitors whose job is to be subcontracted, said during the July 28 rally that he’s luckier than some of his colleagues who will lose their $14-an-hour paychecks and fringe benefits. He has his own after-hours cleaning business and will expand that if he has to. But in almost 16 years at the library, Perry has come to like his colleagues and the rest of the library staff, who formed an association that sponsors cookouts and group trips. "I like working here not just because of the job," he says, "but because of the adventure of working with these co-workers."

Brian C. Jones can be reached at brijudy@ ids.net.