To: Jim Kenney, Mayor, Darrell Clarke, City Council President, Mark Squilla, City Councilor, Kenyatta Johnson, City Councilor, Jannie Blackwell, City Councilor, Curtis Jones Jr, City Councilor, Bobby Henon, City Councilor, Maria Quiñones-Sán...

Petition to Fund Our Libraries!

Dear Mayor Kenney and City Council representatives,

We, the undersigned community members and patrons of the Free Library of Philadelphia urge you to increase funding for the library in the upcoming budget that will be adopted for fiscal year 2020. Library funding was cut significantly in 2008 and never restored. If the budget was adjusted for inflation, it would be $49,761,361 in FY 2020. That is a far cry from the $41,286,517 the libraries received this year, FY 2019. Without an increase, that’s a cut of 17% of funds to support library services.

Underfunding means hundreds of unplanned closures, frazzled staff, no Saturday hours in half the branches, and little funding for activities and programs.

All people in all communities need and deserve equitable library services, and all libraries need to provide them!

Why is this important?

Fund our libraries!