LA County Public Libraries Spared
An 11th-hour deal avoids branch closures, shorter hours
By Staff -- School Library Journal, 8/1/2003
A last-minute rescue by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will allow the County of Los Angeles Public Library (CoLAPL) to avoid closing branches and cutting hours.
Faced with a $7.3 million shortfall, CoLAPL was prepared to close 15 community libraries and one bookmobile, and reduce hours at the remaining facilities (see News, July 2003 , p. 22). But the board reshuffled its funds and came up with the budget shortfall, enabling CoLAPL to maintain current service levels in 2003–2004.
Meanwhile, the status of badly needed state funds for library materials is still unclear. "We will lose state funding in the coming year—we just don't know how much," says County Librarian Margaret Todd. In the current year, CoLAPL received $3.2 million from the state, down from $5.8 million the previous year. Gov. Gray Davis has proposed eliminating state funding for CoLAPL in 2003–2004 and the legislature is offering $1.6 million.
