A consulting firm hired to assess the efficiency of the city’s library system has recommended closing 14 branches.

The recommendation is certain to be ignored. City council emphatically rejected any branch closures after another consulting firm suggested them in the summer.

That firm, KPMG, made a general suggestion of branch closures as part of a cursory analysis of the library system. The second firm, DPRA, was far more detailed in its analysis and recommendations, identifying 14 specific “underperforming” branches for “consolidation.”

The branches are Swansea, Todmorden Room, Davenport, Victoria Village, Evelyn Gregory, Long Branch, Mount Pleasant, Humber Bay, Pleasantview, Jones, Taylor, Queen/Saulter, St.Clair/Silverthorn, and Perth/Dupont.

DPRA’s report does not precisely explain how it arrived at its rankings of branch performance. A company official did not respond to a request for comment, and the spokesperson for the library said she was not certain of its methodology.

DPRA also recommended a 13 per cent cut in branch operating hours. This recommendation is also unlikely to be approved. The library board rejected chief librarian Jane Pyper’s suggestion of a 7 per cent hours cut on Monday.

The library must still make $7.3 million in cuts if it is to meet Mayor Rob Ford’s demand for a 10 per cent reduction from last year’s budget. Pyper will present new suggestions at a board meeting on Dec. 12.

DPRA’s review found few potential sources of significant short-term savings other than from closures and hour reductions, suggesting the system is operating efficiently.