Despite promises the doors are closed
By Leila Oyeku
Staff shortages are preventing some of the Free Library of Philadelphia’s branches from opening on Saturdays despite the system’s goal to have all open six days a week by last year.
“We’ve had a little bit of trouble with keeping people and making sure that we’re continuing to grow,” said Mark Graham, the Free Library’s spokesperson.
As of November, 41 out of 54 branches have increased to Saturday hours. Library workers say a shortage of guards who provide security, maintenance and custodial work has hampered the availability of the branches, which legally require a guard present to open.
The system’s challenge is hiring full and part-time Municipal Guards and part-time temporary Library Facility Guards, Graham said. The system’s 54 branches currently employ 75 municipal guards, he added, and the library is hiring temporary staff and contractors to try and fill in the gaps.
The standard compensation for municipal guards at the library is between approximately $45,000 and $49,000. They are represented by AFSCME District Council 33, which went on strike this summer asking for an 8% increase in wages each year for four years but instead received 3% annual increases for three years and a one time bonus of $1,500.
Jay Matthew Catron, a library assistant at Parkway Central Library for over 10 years, said the main issue in recruiting support staff like him is pay.
“We don’t get compensated very well for our work,” Catron said.
Libraries that have been open on Saturdays are also feeling the effects of the staffing shortage. Karla Kaufman, who manages the Philadelphia City Institute in Rittenhouse Square, said more workers are needed to help with the increasing number of people taking advantage of the branch’s weekend hours.
“We could always use more support staff, quite honestly,” Kaufman said.
Emails between library administrators showed some libraries that opened on Saturdays were then forced to close early due to staffing shortages.
Branches that have not yet had Saturdays hours include Paschalville Library, Eastwick Library, Fumo Family Library, Library of Accessible Media for Pennsylvanians, Logan Library, McPherson Square Library, Welsh Road Library, Wyoming Library, Charles Santore Library, Katharine Drexel Library, and Oak Lane Library, according to the system’s website.
Graham said the Free Library tried to be as equitable as possible when deciding which libraries were selected to be open on Saturdays.
“We look across the neighborhoods and give access so that there are ones that are closer by and some of it is just about which staff they have in place and where they are located,” he said. “We try to make sure that not all of the branches are in the affluent areas, and that not all the branches are just closer together.”
Free Library hours vary by location and day but the branches mainly operate from 10 am to 5 p.m, making Saturday hours the only option for many full-time workers. The branches provide access to books, digital resources, educational programs and events.
“We have a wide variety of clientele,” said Kaufman. “We have the elderly, we have young families, we have college students, and we have some people that are under served as well.”
The Free Library plans to increase Saturday hours for least three or four branches each month for the next couple of months, Graham said. Once all branches have Saturday hours, they will try to add Sunday hours, he said.
“With the more we have been able to be open and available, we’ve been seeing people responding by coming in and using all of the resources that we have,” Graham said.
Paul Devine Bottone, a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has been coming to the Philadelphia City Institute for approximately five years, enjoying socializing with strangers and bringing his son and husband along.
“I think it’s a good way to see people face to face and interact where you don’t have to buy things and you don’t have to spend money,” he said. “It’s just a good resource to have.”