San Francisco Public Library Delays Five Branches

-- Library Journal, 3/14/2007

The San Francisco Public Library (SFPL)'s ambitious $106 million branch renovation program, approved by voters in 2000, is running out of money. Soaring construction costs have caused the postponement of five branch projects, as the SFPL Commission unanimously voted March 1 to use the $18 million dedicated to these projects to instead help fund the completion of 11 other branches. The commission made the decision expecting that more money would come through. There is increasing support for a November ballot that would ask voters to extend a library fund that dedicates a percentage of city revenue for the SFPL operating budget. Voters also would be asked to authorize the city to issue bonds.

The 24 percent escalation in construction costs "hit us hard," SFPL director Luis Herrera said, noting that more than $40 million is needed to complete the projects. The commission is aware of this, he said, and is fully committed to everything being finished. Last year, SFPL got $4 million transferred from general funds to satisfy three projects. The San Francisco Examiner editorialized that "those costs alone do not solve the mystery of where the money went." To date, two branches have been renovated and reopened; another is due to reopen March 31. Six other projects are "fully funded and ready to go," said Herrera. Another 11 projects remain active, in various stages of design.