Officials say Free Library will stay at Walnut Street location

After more than two years of being told that the local branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia was no more, supporters of the location at 40th and Walnut streets finally have reason to hope. According to Beth Ann Johnson, president of the Walnut West Branch of the Friends of the Free Library, library officials last month agreed to allow the library to remain at its former site at the southeast corner of 40th and Walnut streets, where it has been for 83 years. Whether the old building will be renovated or a new building constructed is not yet clear and depends upon city funding for the project, said Helen Miller, director of public services for the Free Library. "The agreement is that we will retain the library at the current site," Miller said. And Johnson said, "We were told by the Free Library that they would construct a new building that incorporates elements of the existing library and we were asked what elements of that building the community felt were important." The library was closed for renovations in 1996, but upon inspection, electricians found the building structurally unsound. Free Library officials estimated the cost of repairs at $3.8 million and decided it was not feasible to fund them on the library's tight budget. University officials agreed to lease a small space at 3927 Walnut Street -- which used to house the Student Employment Office -- to the library for $1 a year, just one month after Free Library officials announced that the old building would never reopen. Last fall, dozens of area residents protested the Free Library's failure to reopen the site. While the University is not directly involved in the library controversy, officials have expressed interest in helping the library find a permanent home. "We're at the table simply because we want to see something good happen on that spot," said Carol Scheman, the University's vice president for government, community and public affairs. While the situation is far from resolved, another positive sign for the library is that the city budget allocated $600,000 to the West Philadelphia branch for Fiscal Year 2001. But the funding is still two years off, which means that while possible, the availability of those funds is not guaranteed, Miller said. Johnson said that the Friends of the Free Library originally believed the money would be in the Fiscal Year 2000 budget. They are currently working with the mayor's office to try to obtain the money sooner than 2001. While the money is not nearly enough to fund the necessary renovations to the existing structure, supporters say it is at least a start. "The good news is any money allocated for us in the city budget means that we can fundraise," Johnson said. "And that means that what we hope to do is raise enough money in the neighborhood to show the library how valuable we consider this [branch] to be." Johnson said the community hopes that however the library decides to fulfill the agreement, it will preserve certain parts of the current building's architecture, including a frieze depicting antique books near the top of the building that the community treasures. "Six hundred thousand dollars is a sign, but in terms of what it is going to cost to build a new building or to renovate that site, it's just the beginning," Miller said.

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