Providence - A long-running dispute over Providence's library buildings came to a storybook ending on Thursday as Mayor Angel Taveras announced a deal between the city and the two independent nonprofits that run the library system.

The agreement calls for the Providence Public Library to transfer seven branch library buildings that it owns to the city under a 20-year lease-purchase agreement that costs $5 million, Taveras said. The Providence Community Library will continue to operate the city's nine branch libraries. One branch is already located in a city-owned building, and the other has a long-term lease, officials said.

"This is a wonderful way to end 2011," said Taveras, who unveiled the plan. He said the City Council still has to sign off on the agreement. Several city councilors attended the announcement to show their support.

Under the deal, the city plans to make annual payments to the Providence Public Library to lease the buildings. The city will own them outright at the end of the lease. The agreement was mediated by retired Superior Court Judge Mark Pfeiffer, Taveras said.

The resolution guarantees the future of the city's neighborhood branches and will open the door for the Providence Community Library to qualify for funding to repair the aging buildings, officials said.

"This is a shining moment for our city," said Marcus Mitchell, president of the Providence Community Library's board of directors.

Unlike most systems nationwide, Providence's libraries are not run by city government but by nonprofits. Both groups receive public funding.

The older institution is the Providence Public Library, which was founded in 1875. The Providence Community Library formed at the end of 2008.