Cecil B. Moore Library has been struggling since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its community has rallied to get it the budget necessary for much-needed renovations through the City’s Rebuild program.
The Free Library of Philadelphia is in the midst of a post-COVID revival. Mayor Kenney’s administration approved a $10.4 million budget increase in 2022 to support the Free Library, which faced some of the most layoffs of any other city department during the pandemic.
However, certain branches have still been struggling to secure the funding needed to serve their communities. The Cecil B. Moore Library, located at 2320 Cecil B. Moore Ave., serves the Strawberry Mansion, North Central, and Brewerytown communities. It was picked up as a Rebuild renovation site in 2016 but has faced continuous funding issues and delays. Grassroots efforts from the library’s staff and local community organizations have been able to secure the budget needed to start renovations this coming August.
Seating area in the adult section of Cecil B. Moore Library
Rebuild is another Kenney project meant to invest in improving community facilities across Philadelphia. Cecil B. Moore Library is one of 70 sites Rebuild is currently working with. The program utilizes funds from the Philadelphia Beverage Tax with project budgets ranging from $50,000 – $13 million.
Arrick Underhill is the head librarian at Cecil B. Moore Library. We met to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Cecil B. Moore Library, Mayor Kenney’s budget increase, and the planned Rebuild Renovations.
How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact Cecil B. Moore Library initially? How is fallout from the pandemic continuing to impact Cecil B. Moore now?
I had just started as a Children’s Librarian at the Kensington Library when the pandemic began, so I can’t speak specifically on the impact on the Cecil B. Moore Branch, but I can speak about how it impacted my patrons.
We saw a couple of things happen in the pandemic. One the presence of the digital divide was glaring. (The term “digital divide” refers to the gap between those who have access to the internet and computers, and those who do not. In 2021 the Philadelphia Internet Assessment Survey found that 29% of Philadelphians making less than $20,000 a year have broadband internet, and 19% have no computer at all.)
Librarians hosted tons of virtual programs during the pandemic: story times, reading sessions with PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society), and videogame clubs. The kids were in obvious need of safe social contact, and all of those programs offered it in some way. Unfortunately, none of the children from my branch’s area attended any of my programs.
Which brings me to the second part of how the pandemic affected the libraries. Our afterschool program offerings through LEAP (Literacy Enrichment After-School Program) have been our bread and butter for years. While we weren’t offering in-person programming during the pandemic, other (LEAP) providers were in spaces that covered the full spectrum of safety regarding COVID protocols. When we reopened, we were essentially competing for kids.
We had 40 (children) a day at Cecil B. Moore before the pandemic, and when we reopened, we started with one child. We were slowly building back up, but our hours changed from a 6PM to 5PM closure, so the kids arrive around 3:30-4PM and cleanup starts at 4:30. Which isn’t exactly enticement for the children to return.
The third part of this is staffing and burnout- I believe our department (Free Library of Philadelphia) had the largest number of layoffs of any city department during the pandemic. We lost all of our seasonal workers, something like 300 people, I think? Rehiring to fill those positions post-pandemic took forever and caused a lot of closures at the libraries due to staff shortages. People retired or moved on to different departments too, and it’s hard to say that burnout from staff shortages didn’t play a role there.
Rock climbing wall in children’s section of Cecil B. Moore library
What impact did Mayor Kenney’s budget increase for the Free Library have on Cecil B. Moore?
A lot actually! Before the budget increase our branch had something like $50 for Black History Month. Now we can hire vendors for programs throughout the year and there’s extra money for Black History Month at that.
Prior to this, the only funding we really had for programming came through a grassroots fund, which is money at the branch manager’s discretion to spend. The source is a donation to that specific branch. As you might imagine, this can be a problem when your branch is located in Sharswood rather than Rittenhouse.
What led Cecil B. Moore library to get picked as a Rebuild renovation project? What specifically is being renovated? What will still need to be renovated?
I wasn’t around when the branch was picked as a Rebuild site, but after I began working here and speaking with community members, they successfully advocated for it to be prioritized and for more funding to be allocated. The specific renovations include full ADA accessibility, replacement of the decrepit HVAC system, new lighting, removing the bars from the windows, a teen space upstairs, and rearrangement of the first floor.
There’s still a lot to do, and this branch should have had $10 million allocated to it like several other locations did. Basically, the remaining issues are aesthetic and equipment upgrades: we need a fully renovated kitchen in the basement to use as a teaching kitchen, higher end computers that are capable of video and music editing and gaming for the basement, and money for all of the items on the list of renovations that are currently listed as alternates- i.e. depend on further funding. Those include new flooring, new shelving in the adult wing, a new circulation desk, replacing the furniture, and some other items.
We are also working with Mural Arts to get a mural installed on the front panels of the building. A lot of our patrons note that they didn’t even know this library was still open, and no wonder- it doesn’t look like it is from the outside. We’re recessed back from the street with an unkempt courtyard and a façade that hasn’t changed since the 60s if you don’t include the installation of bars over the windows. So, a little color and a mural celebrating the rich history of the neighborhood would be a huge boost.
Computer area at Cecil B. Moore Library
What is the relationship like between Cecil B. Moore library and other community organizations throughout North Central, Strawberry Mansion, and Brewerytown?
We aren’t as linked together as we ought to be, but the situation is improving. We’re hosting our skate program at the local rec center (Martin Luther King Recreation Center) and we’ve worked very closely with the Brewerytown/Sharswood Neighborhood Coalition and Cecil B. Moore Freedom Fighters.
What has the community response been to the planned renovations?
They have been underwhelmed, and the general sense that there’s been a huge effort to get money, without payoff. It’s hard to look at the planned renovations and say that they’re sufficient, especially in a historically underserved and neglected neighborhood.
What is the relationship like between Cecil B. Moore Library and Rebuild? What is Rebuild’s relationship with the community?
The relationship (between the community, library, and Rebuild) had a rocky start because this very limited budget was set years past. When it came time to push for more than just a triage budget, in a way it was already too late.
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