The Hartford Public Library (Hartford, CT) is going to make about $530,000 worth of changes that will mean some branches get closed and employees get laid off (see story). Simple fact is that the nonprofit/public library just doesn't have all the income it needs although it does have a small endowment ($14 million).
Although I can't really tell from its website I am fairly confident that the Library is a nonprofit organization. It gets a huge chunk of operating support from the City of Hartford. It has some kind of fundraising effort although again, that is not particularly clear from the website. It's even hard to tell if there's a development director.
So, if a really big nonprofit needs to make huge cuts in a city where there actually are opportunities for raising money and other really big institutions are seeming to be holding on at the very least, what's going on? Me, I of course think of the board first and wonder why more isn't being done. Wrong people at the table?
Whatever, it's clear that some kind of different action must be taken. Board and staff have failed to keep a critical community resource serving at its fully needed capacity.