INQUIRER: After 11 days of mounting outcry over its budget cuts, the Nutter administration yesterday tried to assuage critics with more detailed explanations for its decisions to target 11 libraries, seven fire companies, and 68 pools for closing. For libraries, the administration released statistics on usage and location, arguing that the 11 chosen were among the less heavily used and the nearest to other facilities. For the fire companies, the administration released a variety of measurements, including number and variety of calls each handled and length of response time. It was the most comprehensive offering yet of the data behind the cuts that Mayor Nutter announced Nov. 6 in response to what he said was a $1 billion shortfall in the city’s five-year budget plan. In an inch-thick binder, Chief of Staff Clay Armbrister provided figures showing Philadelphia has more libraries per capita than all other top 10 cities and would remain first in libraries even after closing more than a fifth of its 54. MORE