Providence Community Library v. Providence Public Library: The Next Round

From a May 12, 2001, rally.

Providence Community Library supporters rally at City Hall. (Providence Journal, 7/20/2011)

Excerpt: Boosters and employees of Providence Community Library, which operates the city’s nine branch libraries, held a brief pep rally Tuesday to repeat their demand that the city be given ownership of the branches.

The owner of seven of the buildings is the Providence Public Library, which continues to own and operate the central library downtown.

The sticking point in a fight over the real estate continues to be the Providence Public Library’s insistence on compensation for the real estate before title is transferred to the city, according to Marcus Mitchell, president of the Providence Community Library board of trustees.

At the pep rally inside City Hall, officials of Providence Community Library revisited some of the familiar themes in the approximately eight-year-old dispute between city government and the Providence Public Library regarding financing, maintenance and control of the branches.

“We’re still in limbo because the PPL is sitting on these public assets,” Mitchell declared.

Related posts:
Unsure about status of branches.  (5/28/2011)
It's complicated.  (5/16/2011)
New administrative structure, same old building maintenance issues. (10/16/2010)