Public backlash against San Diego’s plan to close all city library branches every Sunday and Monday has prompted the city’s head librarian to agree to propose alternatives, like giving some branches longer hours than others.
City officials also revealed last week that the proposed cuts go far beyond just shorter branch hours to include less cleaning of branches, fewer self-checkout stations and new fees to park at some libraries after hours.
But the key debate regarding library cuts is whether to go with Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposal to close branches on Sundays and Mondays across the board or to soften the hour reductions in low-income neighborhoods.
The mayor is proposing cuts to city libraries to help close a projected $258 million deficit in the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. He’s proposing a 5.7% cut to libraries, which equates to $4.4 million.
Council who oppose Gloria’s across-the-board approach say low-income neighborhoods are more likely to treat library branches as a community hub where they can get free internet and other services.
They note that a recent city study showed that library patrons in wealthy areas tend to rely on branches more for checking out materials and less as places to read, work, collaborate and access services.
“Libraries are one of the last truly accessible public spaces in the city,” Councilmember Vivian Moreno said. “They are where a student goes when home is too noisy to focus.”
Councilmember Henry Foster said libraries often serve a different role in neighborhoods where home life isn’t always smooth.
“That is a safe place where families can go when things are difficult at home,” Foster said.
Head librarian Misty Jones told council last week that she is working with city budget experts and the labor union representing library workers on alternative proposals that would vary hours by branch.
“The Library Department is continuing to strategize ways to provide additional service in communities of concern,” Jones said during a budget hearing last week.
Jones said she and the mayor initially chose across-the-board Sunday and Monday closures because consistent hours across the city’s 37 branches are easier for patrons to and work well for employees.
Closing two days in a row gives employees consecutive days off, and the proposal allows all branches to remain open at least one weekend day — Saturday. Forcing employees to take nonconsecutive days off would entitle them to extra pay and eat into budget savings, Jones said.
But Jones said she’s heard the criticism and recently began using a new tool to analyze alternative scenarios.
“We are working with the Performance and Analytics Department and they have just designed a tool for us to look at all the different factors — the public factor, the equity factor, the budget factor — for the schedules,” she said.
The office of the city’s independent budget analyst said it recently discussed a specific idea with Jones and the labor union representing library workers, the Municipal Employees Association.
“One alternative that our office discussed with the Library Department and MEA could potentially restore some Monday hours at three to four library locations within communities of concern,” the IBA said. “This may require some library staff to split their time between multiple locations.”
While council generally embraced that concept, Councilmember Kent Lee said he wants whatever alternative approach is proposed to affect more branches.
While he acknowledged libraries are crucial in low-income areas, Lee said they also matter a lot in many middle-income neighborhoods — such as Mira Mesa, which is in his district.
“I’d be looking to do more than just reopen three or four branches in particular communities,” Lee said.
Councilmember Raul Campillo said he doubts the city will come up with an acceptable formula to pick which branches would get longer hours. He noted that while most of his eastern suburban neighborhoods are seen as middle class, each has a pocket of poverty.
“Going library by library, it’s difficult to ascertain which ones are needed more,” he said.
Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said he’d like to see what alternative proposals Jones considered before proposing the across-the-board Sunday and Monday closures.
Kristina Peralta, a deputy chief operating officer who oversees libraries, said that won’t be possible.
“It might not be fully baked, and we’d rather give you good information than provide you something that might not be fully baked or possible,” Peralta said.
Jones told the IBA that the alternatives she previously studied either created problems for staff scheduling or didn’t provide adequate budget savings.
The other proposed library cuts include $256,000 to janitorial services, which will reduce midday cleaning and carpet cleaning, and $52,000 to the budget for self-checkout kiosks, automated book returns and RFID security gates.
The IBA says the cuts to the self-checkout kiosks will reduce the number of those kiosks to one per branch, which could create delays for book checkouts at busy times.
Jones is also proposing to start charging for parking during off hours at five branches: the downtown central library, Mission Hills, North Park, La Jolla and San Carlos.
It will cost $79,000 to set up the collection systems at those lots, but first-year revenue is projected to be $215,000.
