The Pratt Library: Transforming Spaces, Addressing Needs in Baltimore
The Enoch Pratt Free Library, also known as the Pratt Library or just The Pratt, has long been a mainstay of Baltimore City, Maryland. On January 21, 1882, Baltimore businessman Enoch Pratt offered the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore a gift of a central library, four branch libraries, and an endowment of $1,058,333.00. “My library shall be for all, rich and poor without distinction of race or color, who, when properly accredited, can take out the books if they will handle them carefully and return them,” Pratt said. On October 15, 1886, decades before most public libraries welcomed people of color, the Pratt Library issued a library card to Harry S. Cummings, making him the first African American to get a Pratt Library card.
The Pratt Library system now has 21 library branches across Baltimore, with more in the pipeline. As public libraries, they provide a safe space of refuge and resources for social services, education support, job searches, and internet access.
Linking the library’s growth to the city’s development has been a critical strategy in the Pratt Library’s efforts to secure funding for necessary building improvements. The new five-year strategic plan recently introduced by Pratt highlights the need for nearly $300 million to cover repairs and expansions across the library system. An assessment done by a consultant and the Baltimore City Department of General Services found a need for more than $197 million to address critical needs, including building repairs, expansions, and HVAC upgrades alone. The expansions needed to keep up with growth in the community will need an additional $80 million in funding.
Blight in Baltimore
Baltimore is home to the professional Ravens football and Orioles baseball teams. City leaders and businesses promote it as a safe tourist destination despite a high crime rate in some areas. However, just a few blocks from the bustling sports arenas and the renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital, many Baltimore streets are lined with vacant and abandoned homes, which can be a breeding ground for violent crime. These areas have posed a challenge to community members and city leaders who want to provide safe streets and affordable housing. Baltimore, like many other American cities, has struggled since the crack cocaine epidemic of the 90s with crime-riddled and ultimately abandoned areas of the city. Fires decimated some places, and owners, many of whom were landlords, didn’t want to invest any money to keep up or rehabilitate the buildings. As the opioid and fentanyl epidemic continues to surge, drug dealers and overdose victims are often found in abandoned buildings.
Enoch Pratt Library As Part of the Solution
The city has an ambitious plan to create safe zones and provide affordable housing for its residents. The Pratt Library leaders have positioned the system as part of the solution. According to Meghan McCorkell, Pratt’s Chief of Marketing, Communications and Strategy, “One of the big pieces of the Pratt Strategic Plan going forward is looking at sustainability. We know deferred maintenance of the city-owned buildings is a major issue across Baltimore.” The funds the system gets from the city each year don’t come close to covering the maintenance costs for some of the oldest libraries in the state. “We don’t see that issue correcting itself anytime soon. So, we started looking at different models across the country of what could be done regarding sustainability. The Pratt owns some buildings in prime real estate spots, such as our Washington Village branch, which is in the heart of the Pigtown community. Years ago, a developer expressed interest in purchasing the building and leasing space to the library at a reduced cost while building apartments on top of the building. We worked with the Baltimore Development Corporation on the project, which, many years later, is set to break ground this fall. We hope to replicate this model in some of our other buildings where the library becomes the tenant, so we don’t have to contend with maintenance needs in our aging buildings. This way, the community will get a brand-new modern library, and we will be able to relieve the city of the maintenance costs of buildings.” It’s a win/win/win for the city, the library, and the community.
The non-profit Rebuild Johnston Square Neighborhood Association has been working for over a decade to rejuvenate its area of Baltimore. In 2012, it was part of building 60-unit affordable housing apartments and the Henrietta Lacks Educational Park. Its future goals include athletic fields and community greenspace. When Pratt leaders were approached by developers ReBUILD Metro and Somerset Development to anchor on the first floor of a new apartment building in the Johnston Square neighborhood, they didn’t hesitate. This project has become an example of how to replace vacant homes with new investments.
ReBUILD Metro is reviving the neighborhood block by block and renovating housing, road infrastructure, and public amenities. The financial cost is significant, but it is being raised, almost $100 million as of July 2024, through partnerships with longtime residents. The library, the first new branch in 15 years, will be on what used to be 42 vacant lots. The new apartments will include a swimming pool, parking lots, and 46 rehabilitated homes offered to teachers and educators at reduced rates. ReBUILD also plans to add housing that is designated for working artists. A significant difference between this and other urban renewal projects is that 33 homeowners have also received reduced-cost home improvements and upgrades. According to Interim Pratt CEO Darcell Graham, the new library will feature a business center with the latest technology and interactive spaces for all ages. The “public/private partnership is a newer model for the Enoch Pratt Free Library that we believe could be a roadmap for the future to help sustain The Pratt’s presence across Baltimore communities,” Graham said. According to the Baltimore Banner, financing is provided by financial, community, Foundation, and state and local government departments. The library will also provide a safe space for the community to create new homes and routines. “We know the model of just trying to raise the capital improvement funding for our existing buildings won’t work systemwide in the long term. So, we are thinking outside the box,” McCorkell notes. “Our new Park Heights Branch will be the first co-located with a recreation center. So, while we will still own the building, we can work with recreation and parks, so we aren’t duplicating services. There isn’t a one–size–fit–prescription for this sustainability issue. What works in one neighborhood may not work in another. And it takes relationships with the mayor’s office, the City Council, and city agencies to get all this done.”
Addressing Food Insecurity
Not only is The Pratt getting in on the ground floor of redevelopment in Baltimore, but it is also leading the way in addressing the city’s food deserts. In September 2024, The Pratt established a free grocery store at the Southeast Anchor Library. According to the library website, the Pratt Free Market (PFM) aims to create a safe space for the community through food. Their goal is to help address the issue of food insecurity in Baltimore City and alleviate hunger in the local community. The free store will provide produce, dry goods, paper goods, and more from generous local partners and host community-based, food-centered library programming. The PFM will be open for three hours a day on Wednesdays and Fridays, and each customer will get one library-supplied bag a day to fill with items.
New Leadership
Enoch Pratt Free Library recently introduced its new President and CEO, Chad Helton. Helton brings experience from Hennepin County Library in Minnesota and Los Angeles Public Library in California, where he addressed infrastructure and budget challenges. The projects set in motion will allow him to build on the relationships already in place and improve the sustainability and resiliency of the Pratt Library system for years to come.
References
Miller, Hallie, “Johnston Square revival continues with project for new apartments, library,” Baltimore Banner, July 11, 2024
Jalil, Ela, “Pratt Library seeks nearly $300M to revamp branches amid record circulation.” Baltimore Banner, July 15, 2024
Dieterle, Marcus, “Ground broken for new Pratt Library branch, mixed income apartments in Johnston Square.” July 10, 2024
Tags: colocatingpubliclibraries, enochprattlibrary, librariesandreccenters
