The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh faces another financial headache next year -- a 20.1 percent cut in state public library subsidies following last week's legislative approval of the state's new budget.

Calculated by the Pennsylvania Library Association yesterday, the statewide subsidy decreased by $15.1 million from the current $75.1 million. The state allocated $4.78 million to the Carnegie Library this year.

The Legislature also eliminated one major program -- the Electronic Library Catalog that links facilities around the state to provide reference material via the Internet.

"The Legislature basically returned all libraries to the pre-Internet age," said Barbara Mistick, director of the Carnegie Library. "That's a devastating change. It means the end to accessing information across the commonwealth."

The cutbacks, while expected, add up to a $1.2 million shortfall in next year's library revenues, Ms. Mistick said. That amount represents a little more than 5 percent of the library's 2009 operating budget of $23.3 million.

The deficit prompted the library's board of trustees last week to close four branches, merge two, eliminate 30 positions and cut operating hours by 28 percent systemwide. The changes will begin Jan. 2.

Using the library association figures, overall allocations for Pennsylvania libraries were cut 26.7 percent, including a 57.1 percent reduction in library access funds covering such services as interlibrary loan and a 47.8 percent slashing of the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, including the State Library in Harrisburg.

"That's also pretty amazing, considering we just opened a beautiful new state library building," Ms. Mistick said. "It's just not a good year for libraries."

Following the budget approval, state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, said there might be an opportunity for additional funding to the Carnegie Library through legislation that would allow table games at the state's casinos.

But lawmakers have yet to agree on the details of the plan, including how much to tax revenue from table games.

Mr. Frankel said a portion of the city's allocation could go toward the library, but it is unknown how much money that might be.

Lawmakers would be interested in a plan that helps the libraries, provided that neighborhood branches such as the ones slated to close in Pittsburgh will stay open, said the legislator, whose district includes the Hazelwood branch, scheduled to close Feb. 1.

State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, whose district includes the Lawrenceville branch, also due for elimination, said lawmakers are trying to "come up with some additional dedicated revenue, but that remains to be seen."

"It's certainly something we should look at, but I don't want to give any false hopes here," he said.

The Carnegie Library's dependence on public support, rather than an endowment, has its roots in the charitable philosophy of its namesake and founder.

Andrew Carnegie began thinking about libraries when he was 33, listing one of his goals as "improvement of the poorer classes." By the 1880s, he was wealthy enough to accomplish that goal by giving away public libraries.

His first gift was $300,000 to the former city of Allegheny in 1887. He followed with a $1 million library building in Oakland for the city of Pittsburgh in 1890, and the Carnegie Library opened five years later. Mr. Carnegie's first library in Braddock, which opened in 1889, originally was meant only for workers in his steel mill.

But there was a catch.

Writing to the mayor of Pittsburgh in 1890, he explained his philanthropic philosophy:

"… I am equally clear that unless a community is willing to maintain Public Libraries at the public cost, very little good can be obtained from them. Not to save me further expenditure therefore, but for the best interests of the city, I make it a condition that they shall be properly maintained by the city."

The city responded with a pledge to provide $40,000 a year for upkeep. This year, the city once again gave the library its required $40,000 -- a modest amount in these days of multimillion-dollar budgets, but one that has become a symbol in the library's campaign to preserve its services in financially tough times.

Carnegie's demand that the beneficiaries of his gifts guarantee their support was integral to his attitude about giving his money away, said Abigail A. Van Slyck, author of "Free to All: Carnegie Libraries and American Culture, 1890-1920."

"He wanted the people to feel in a very concrete way that the library was theirs and that they must show their support," said Dr. Van Slyck, professor of architecture at Connecticut College. "That was very important to him. Carnegie was building a model of philanthropy that was very local and specific."

To quote the Scottish immigrant: "The main consideration should be to help those who help themselves."

In listing its revenue sources for this year, the library pointed out that the city's contribution constitutes 0.02 percent of its $23.3 million budget.

Taxpayers, however, fund $17.6 million of the library budget through the Regional Asset District system, which allocates a portion of the sales tax in Allegheny County to assets like the library. The 44 community libraries located throughout the county that are not part of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh system share $5.6 million.

"Our system is chronically underfunded compared to other library systems around the country," Ms. Mistick said frequently during a series of town hall meetings this summer on the predicted deficit.

She cited the Cleveland Public Library as a model of public support. It serves a population that is about 100,000 people larger than Pittsburgh's through its central library downtown and 28 branches. The Carnegie Library now has 19 branches.

In 2008, Cleveland received $66.7 million in public funds, $27.9 million from city property taxes and $26.4 million from state taxes. Cleveland voters last year renewed the city tax levy for five years.

The Rand Corp. spent a year studying the future of the Carnegie Library and released its findings earlier this year. It found, based on 2005 figures, that among 15 urban library systems nationwide, the Carnegie ranked ninth in public support, receiving $56 per person in Pittsburgh. When the library's service area is expanded to include residents throughout Allegheny County, that figure drops to $21. County residents are permitted free use of the Carnegie Library.

"Though (the Carnegie Library) does not replace local library services for the entire county, it plays a significant role in serving it," the Rand study concluded.

In comparison, the Cleveland Public Library receives $146 per capita in funding.

With RAD's 2010 allocation frozen at this year's amount, the library will have less revenue, but under the RAD requirements must balance its budget. Taking its cue from the Rand study suggestion that the library create a "right-sized" system, it is closing or consolidating branches. Dr. Mistick said last week that the library operated more branches than the city's population warranted.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl last week offered little sympathy for the library's plight and criticized its plans to close and merge branches. Following his suggestion that an audit was needed before he would consider providing any further financial help, RAD agreed to consider ordering a performance audit. A decision is expected later this month.

The city was the library's primary financial supporter between 1895 and 1995, when RAD began. It continues to own many of the branch buildings, including the now-empty Allegheny Regional Branch on the North Side -- the site of Carnegie's first public library -- and the original branch in Lawrenceville, which opened in 1898. A modern replacement of the Allegheny library opened near the old building this summer.

The county also began contributing funds to the Carnegie in 1956, then bowed out for RAD.

While the statewide impact of library funding cuts in the new state budget passed last week is still unclear, the Free Library of Philadelphia initiated a series of service and staff cuts this year, said Sandra Horrocks, vice president of communications.

"We first tried emergency closing of branches, four to six [branches] a week earlier this year," she said, "until the state Legislature approved tax relief [for the city], but we're still not out of the woods."

Branches are now open only five days a week, and half are open Tuesdays-Saturdays to preserve Saturday hours. None was shut.

Philadelphia operates its library system on a $32 million budget. The state contributed $9.4 million this year, a figure likely to be significantly reduced in the new state spending plan.

Nationwide, library systems in such major cities as Chicago, Seattle, San Diego, Washington, D.C., and Dallas have furloughed staff, cut hours and trimmed services in this recession year, a trend that has also caught up with Andrew Carnegie's gift to Pittsburgh.

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