Carnegie Library back on solid financial footing; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/26/14

Mackenzie Carpenter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Carnegie Library back on solid financial footing:

"In 2009, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh was teetering on a precipice, faced with a dramatic drop in state revenues and the prospect of shuttered branches, shorter hours and fewer users because of competition from the Internet.

Today, the library system is on solid ground again, thanks to revenues from two new funding sources -- a new property tax of 0.25 mill approved by voters in 2011 and money from a casino gambling tax.

"We feel we're in a position of strength and stability when it comes to finances," the library's president and director Mary Frances Cooper said Wednesday, hours before a "State of the Library" public meeting at the East Liberty branch...

For 2014, there are two big priorities: increased community engagement -- more teen and children's services, for example -- and expanded digital initiatives. The library has hired Toby Greenwalt as its new director of digital strategy and technology integration to help fully link the library's physical services with the virtual world."