PL Board Rejects Grand Jury Report

The Sacramento Public Library (SPL) has rejected a grand jury's report bashing the library and suggesting the dismissal of Director Anne Marie Gold (see News, LJ 6/15/08, p. 16ff.). The board said that library officials have not seen all the grand jury evidence and that the board cannot discuss personnel matters publicly.

In May, the 2007–08 Sacramento County Grand Jury cited several problems at SPL, including the hiring of a maintenance company that inflated invoices for more than three years, credit card abuses by managers, and overuse of consultants.

Despite the board's response, many remain unconvinced. A lawyer who was on the grand jury told the Sacramento Bee that the investigation took place “often in the face of obfuscation, indifference and non-cooperation from Library leadership.” And a president of one of SPL's branch Friends groups, speaking for herself, suggested the library was like “a house infested with termites” ignored by the homeowner, according to the Bee.

SPL also acknowledged that it has a bigger problem with uncollected fines and lost materials than previously reported. SPL officials told the grand jury in March the figure was $2.7 million. “Upon performing data review and error checking,” that figure was revised to $4.3 million, and in July it was further “revised to $4.6 million,” according to an SPL report.

The report recommends lowering the amount of debt at which customers are barred from borrowing materials, now at $15; evaluating checkout limits per card, now at 50 items; investigating barriers to payment, including institution of credit/debit card capability; and determining if owing $50 is the right point at which to turn an account over to a collection agency.