NEWARK - The Newark Public Library, with no budget cut relief in sight, will close all branches on Mondays and Tuesdays as of Aug. 16. The closure is to last for at least the remainder of 2010.
NPL Director Wilma Grey has been meanwhile preparing her staff and patrons for the permanent closure of two of library branches on Aug. 27. The First Avenue Branch, 282 First Ave, and the Madison Branch, 790 Clinton Ave., have been leased storefronts since the 1970s.
North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos, Jr., at the municipal council's Aug. 4 meeting, said that he and his colleagues will talk with Grey and other concerned stakeholders about keeping First Avenue and Madison branches open.
Grey said that NPL has been struggling with a $2.45 million cut in its subsidy from the city. The City of Newark supplies 90 percent of the state's largest public library system's operating funds.
Mayor Cory A. Booker asked departments to make up to 20 percent cuts in their operations, services and/or staff to meet a projected $70 million 2010-11 budget deficit. The $2.45 million cut that NPL is being asked to digest, said Grey, is to be more like 40 percent since the economies are to be made during the last months of 2010.
The library system, since July 1, has kept all branches except for the Main Library closed on Saturdays. The Main Library, at 5 Washington St., is open Saturdays until 1:30 p.m. There have been also cuts made to staff, including all pages and most security guards.
Friends of the Newark Public Library are urging patrons and residents to call, e-mail or petition their council members.
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