15 Library Jobs Likely Cut to Save $500K in Ventura County, CA

Staff -- Library Journal, 2/9/1998

The Ventura County Library Services Agency, CA, is expected to cut 15 full-time jobs as part of an effort to redeploy $500,000 for open hours and book purchases. The job cuts are part of a large-scale reorganization aimed to save the 15-branch system, which operates on a $5.8 million budget, down from $11.1 million only seven years ago.The cuts, which reduce the number of full-time library staff positions--including eight librarians--from 67 to 52, had been passed by several county committees and commissions. The reorganization was expected to be approved by the county Board of Supervisors and to go into effect in early April. According to the Daily News of Los Angeles, the union representing library workers might seek a restraining order to push city officials to earmark more library funds.