Salinas Libraries To Restore Some Hours

By Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 02/15/2006

In Salinas, CA, where voters last November approved new taxes to rescue the decimated library system (see News, LJ 12/05), library service has begun to be restored. Last week, the Salinas City Council agreed to hire three librarians and two paraprofessionals, which will help the system’s three libraries offer 69 hours a week in combined service, according to the Monterey Herald.

The libraries currently offer 33 hours a week of service, a deep cut from early 2005, when the libraries were open a combined 96 hours a week. While the new schedule could begin in March, it’s not easy to recruit workers to Salinas, where housing is expensive. The funds for new staff actually will come from money raised for the Rally Salinas! campaign, while the money raised from the Measure V half-cent sales tax will be used subject to decisions by the city council.