Voters Decide the Fate of Libraries
Some counties pass tax measures to support cash-strapped libraries; others say no
By Kathy Ishizuka -- School Library Journal, 4/1/2004
Measure Q, which reauthorizes the 1994 Library Services Retention and Enhancement Act, will maintain seven-day service at Oakland's main library and provide children's services at every branch. If the measure had failed to pass, the library would have faced a $1.1 million budget shortfall, says Library Director Carmen Martinez.
The lack of support in Los Angeles for a proposed $25.26 parcel tax means that 10 cities, including Montebello, Gardena, and San Fernando, may be forced to cut library services. San Fernando, for example, would have received $124,000 annually from the parcel tax to help maintain existing library hours. Now, "those cities won't have that cushion to fall back on," says Los Angeles County Library spokeswoman Nancy Mahr.
Los Angeles libraries need all the help they can get. The system recently threatened to close 16 libraries and lay off 400 workers, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger slashed county funds by $460 million in February. Mahr says the library's February curtailment plan will be finalized in June.
It was a victory, however, for Ohio's Dayton Metro Library, as voters passed Issue 20, a measure that will bring the system's 21 libraries $9.8 million annually for the next five years, up from the $1.8 million they receive from the existing library levy.
Dayton will use the additional funds to restore full-day service to its branches and children's programming. The money couldn't be more welcome, says Mark Willis, Dayton's community relations manager, adding that the library, with a current budget of $21 million, has already spent about $400,000 in cash reserves this year.
Cash-strapped libraries are increasingly turning to local ballots, where they compete for tax dollars with fire and police departments and other basic services. And the trend will likely continue, at least in Ohio, where state legislators have promised to further reduce library funding, says Willis.
