Long Beach Main Library Saved

The main library of the Long Beach Public Library, CA, scheduled for closure October 1 under the proposed mayoral budget, will remain open, after a strong public campaign from library supporters. A compromise plan was first announced that would close the main library for two days a week, another way to save $1.8 million instead of closing the building to the public and expanding services elsewhere, but city councilors September 9 restored $258,000 of the cut, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

While the main library would be closed two days and hours cut from 55 to 40, fewer than the announced 19 FTEs would be laid off. Eleanore Schmidt, director of library services, told the newspaper, “I think it's a great day for library patrons.”

In July, Mayor Bob Foster's administration claimed the main library would be unsafe in an earthquake, needed $10 million in repairs, and was too costly to heat and cool. Built in 1977, it encompasses 135,000 square feet, of which about 90,000 square feet are for public service, while the 11 branches offer less than 86,000 total square feet combined (see News, LJ 9/1/08, p. 15).

Local activists who formed Save the Long Beach Public Library offered forceful rebuttals to the city's contentions, for example, about repair costs and service shifts to the branches. There was considerable outcry in response to the mayor's plan, including 5800 petition signatures and an op-ed by author Ray Bradbury, who also appeared at a victory party.