By a vote of 32 to 17, the Pennsylvania State senate passed a bill last week that will keep the Free Library of Philadelphia system open–sparing the jobs of 3,000 employees and preventing a complete closure.
GalleyCat reported on the looming closure last week, an unhappy event that would have affected all branches, regional library programs, and classes including after school programs, computer classes, and adults programs. More than 2,000 concerned patrons wrote to the legislature, urging lawmakers to keep the library open.
Here’s more from the release: “countless others made calls and sent emails underscoring how important public libraries are to the economic, educational and social life of our city. We also thank our incredible library staff, who despite the threat of imminent layoffs continued to provide excellent service to the thousands of people who use one of the 54 libraries in our system.” (Via BoingBoing)