Thousands wrote and called the Pennsylvania State Legislature to advocate for the Free Library of Philadelphia system, and they listened! On September 17th, by a vote of 32 to 17, the state senate passed the legislation that was needed for Philadelphia to avoid a “Doomsday” budget scenario, which would have resulted in the layoff of 3,000 city employees and forced the closing of all 54 libraries in the system. One day later, the governor and legislative leaders also reached a tentative agreement on a state spending plan, finally ending the longest state budget stalemate in the country.
So the Free Library will remain open!
