Jennifer Baldino Bonett

Guest Commentary by Jennifer Baldino Bonett

Breathe. Set an intention. As we started our yoga class at the Donatucci Library on Wednesday, I took a deep breath and thought how fortunate I am to be able to attend to health of mind AND body just blocks from my home. I set my intention . . . that Mayor Nutter would receive the inspiration – and the funding – to keep all of our libraries open.

Having been an advisor to former Penn President Judith Rodin, the first female president in the Ivy League, I know about the agonizingly difficult decisions that leaders face. I also know about setting priorities. Mayor Nutter’s well-stated priorities of safety and education match those of the philosopher Cicero, who advocated strength of body and mind. Cicero put it simply: “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” In today’s Philadelphia, a four-mile round-trip walk from home to library does not yield safety or education for the children of our city. Just half of Philadelphia homes have computer access, and library closures will increase the digital divide. Aspiring to the “library of the future” on the Parkway may sound glorious, but how many residents of Philadelphia neighborhoods can make that trip, especially with kids in tow or, for the elderly, with a cane or wheelchair?

Our city of neighborhoods is a city of libraries. What a beautiful thing! As Inga Saffron wrote in Friday’s Inquirer: “Instead of finding fault in Philadelphia’s large collection of neighborhood branches, the administration ought to be crowing about being at the top of this particular statistical heap.”

Joe Eastman, named a Philadelphia Literacy Champion by the Center for Literacy, along with Mayor Nutter and others last week, is a teacher of English as a Second Language and Citizenship. He said this:  “I have taught many of my classes in city libraries. Often, I would share space with children who were attending the after-school LEAP Program. Many times I would wait in line with a senior citizen who was waiting to use the computer so that he could stay in touch with his grandchildren via e-mail. It always amazed me how many activities could take place within the four walls of a library.”

To dissect the library system would be like leaving the scarecrow without his brain or the tin man without his heart. Our leaders need muster up their courage.

I am certain that Mayor Nutter, with all his intelligence and compassion, took great pains before deciding to shutter 11 Philadelphia libraries. But as an insightful leader, he also should have given pause. His promises of innovation can still be achieved in spite of – or perhaps because of — economic distress. Rather than slash and burn, Mayor Nutter should soldier on to find more creative ways to ride out the economic storm — to buy time where he can and turn to philanthropists where he can’t.

Take a moment, Mayor Nutter, and breathe.

Jennifer Baldino Bonett, a native Philadelphian, is a member of the Friends of the Donatucci Library, scheduled to remain open. She is an award-winning journalist and former advisor to the president of the University of Pennsylvania.  Her husband, Eddie Bonett sits on the board of the Friends of the Library.