San Diego Mayor Proposes Temporary Closing of Seven Libraries
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 11/7/2008
- Seven of 33 branches to close
- Libraries face larger percentage cut
- Library board, Friends group oppose move
Citing “plummeting tax revenues,” San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has proposed the temporary closure of seven of 33 branches of the San Diego Public Library to help meet a $43 million gap. While Sanders also proposed closing recreational facilities and cutting the budget of police and fire services, libraries appear to face a larger percentage cut, $2 million of $37 million, or 5.4%. The library will lose 33.81 positions, according to the mayor's report.
In a statement, Sanders said that the libraries were selected based on lower usage as well as their proximity to newer, larger branches. (There’s also a Central Library.) The Board of Library Commissioners voted unanimously to oppose Sanders’s proposal, noting that library circulation has increased 8% in the last three months, a testament to the importance of library service in hard times.
The Ci
ty Council will begin to discuss the cuts on November 12, and the Friends of the San Diego Public Library encourages all Library supporters to testify and to contact their Council representatives. The group is distributing "I Love My Library!" buttons, as shown (left) on its web site.
Not everyone is on board with the mayor's plan. Councilwoman-elect Marti Emerald criticized “corporate welfare in San Diego” and told the San Diego Union-Tribune, “I think we really need to use those tax dollars, not to subsidize the wealthy, but to free up dollars to help people.”
