Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's plan to close five of its branches raised enough eyebrows on the Regional Asset District board that the board will vote next week on whether to order a special audit of the library system.

The RAD board's auditing committee yesterday recommended such an audit, which is expected to look into long-range finances and how the decision to close libraries was made.

"Anytime you close a library, it is like closing a church, a police station or a school," said the RAD board's vice chairman, Daniel Griffin.

"It's a controversial thing. It's an emotional thing."

The full RAD board will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Regional Enterprise Tower. If it votes for the audit, RAD will issue a request for proposal and select the auditor. The cost of the audit is expected to exceed $10,000 and be paid for by RAD.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh this calendar year is receiving RAD's single largest grant, $17.6 million.

The same amount also is tentatively earmarked for next year. The library in July had asked for $19.38 million for 2010, the vast majority of its proposed $26 million budget. RAD gets its money from a 1 percent sales tax in Allegheny County.

RAD periodically audits its grant recipients and requires them to have regular professional audits. But this audit is different from the usual audits, due to its timing and potential scope.

Suzanne Thinnes, communications manager for the library, yesterday issued this statement on behalf of the library board of trustees:

"We look forward to working with the Allegheny Regional Asset District and welcome any tool that will help us continue to stress the importance of libraries in our community. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will provide any and all requested information."

On Oct. 5, the library board voted to close library branches in Beechview, West End, Hazelwood and Lawrenceville; to merge Carrick and Knoxville branches into a single, new library location; to reduce service hours overall by 28 percent counting the closed branches and cut staff by about 13 percent; and to increase certain fees and fines. It also plans to create a new outreach program to help children and families, particularly in neighborhoods affected by the branch closings.

In a letter to RAD officials, Barbara Mistick, president and director of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, wrote that the library has faced cuts in local and state funding since 2002 and increases in operating costs.

"If the library did nothing to address this issue, we would be facing a $6 million funding shortfall by 2014," she wrote. "The library's board of trustees took this great responsibility very seriously and I hope that, together as a community, we can work to find library funding that is consistent, long-term and sustainable so that our system is not faced with additional cuts beyond those already identified."

While the scope of the audit has not been set, RAD board chairwoman Dusty Elias Kirk said it likely would look at long-range financial prospects.

"We need to see what the whole picture is," she said.

Mr. Griffin said, "It doesn't seem like this is a one-year problem."

Mr. Griffin said the audit could look at how the decision to close particular libraries was made and whether they were given their fair share of resources -- such as popular books and videos -- to attract users.

RAD has already sent a list of questions to the library, including asking about alternatives that were considered.

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