Supervisors to consider plan to eliminate Saturday hours at
library
The San Benito County Free Library will likely be closed on
Saturdays starting next month in response to staffing and budget
shortfalls brought on by local and statewide financial woes.
”
It’s a difficult decision,
”
said Librarian Nora Conte.
”
But we just don’t have the bodies to do what we need to do. You
look at all your services and do the best you can within the
confines of what’s provided to you.
”
Supervisors to consider plan to eliminate Saturday hours at library
The San Benito County Free Library will likely be closed on Saturdays starting next month in response to staffing and budget shortfalls brought on by local and statewide financial woes.
“It’s a difficult decision,” said Librarian Nora Conte. “But we just don’t have the bodies to do what we need to do. You look at all your services and do the best you can within the confines of what’s provided to you.”
As part of a recently-announced 15-day-per-year, county-wide furlough, the library’s eight employees are having their hours cut back by a total of more than 4,600 hours per year from Conte’s original staffing plan. Since Saturdays tend to be slower days in terms of book circulation and programs, Conte proposes to eliminate that day from the library’s Monday through Saturday schedule.
The Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss the proposal at its Aug. 15 meeting, according to Susan Thompson, the county’s chief administrative officer. Also up for discussion are a proposed increase in the per-day late book fine from 15 cents to 25 cents and a plan to charge an hourly rate for use of the library’s Barbara Memorial Room
“The options for us are pretty limited at this time,” she said. “The board hasn’t taken action to eliminate Saturdays yet, but because our staffing is so short, it was a proposal that made sense. The message is we want to maintain as healthy a service delivery system as we can during tight times, and that includes mobile delivery services.”
The library recently rolled out its new bookmobile, which spends Monday through Thursday traveling the county to reach people who may not be able to make it to the Fifth Street branch in Hollister. Recent stops have included labor and migrant camps, the Tres Pinos Post Office, Villa Luna Apartments, the Nob Hill Shopping Center and San Juan Bautista’s community center and Windmill Market.
The furloughs and proposed cutback in service days for the main branch come at a time of what Conte terms “explosive growth” in library use.
In this month’s library newsletter, she said 560 new library cards have been issued this summer and circulation has risen by 2,000.
“We had 22,000 patrons in 2008 and now we have 25,037,” Conte stated.
As for the cutback proposal, Conte said, “it breaks my heart, it really does.
“I am hoping that things will get better and that we will be reevaluating [the elimination of Saturday hours] later.”
With the local, state and federal economies still in the throes of a recession, libraries are a refuge and a resource for many people looking to stay busy or enhance their skills.
“Historically when the economy is bad people look toward the library for help,” Conte said. “They can access job information; children can come in and use the homework center; we have our literacy program with which we are partnering with Gavilan College.”
With the library’s limited book stock, the proposal to raise per-day late book fines by 10 cents is not just about making money, said Conte, who hopes the higher levy will encourage people to return books in a more timely manner.
“I’d really like for people to return their books on time so other members of the community can have access,” she said. “We are under what surrounding counties charge. For me, it’s about the availability of materials.”
Thompson, the county CAO, said that with the recent decision to eliminate vacant positions in the sheriff’s and probation departments – among others – many vital services are being hit by the budget axe.
“I feel like Nora has come up with a responsible and responsive plan that maintains a high level of service even in tough times,” Thompson said. “It’s heartbreaking for all of us, but we had to look at every aspect of the budget. It’s trying to do the best we can with limited resources.”
The San Benito County Free Library, located at 470 Fifth St. in Hollister, is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m.; and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 636-4107 or visit www.sanbenitofl.org.
