10-day closure for struggling Sonoma County libraries

Declining property tax revenue has prompted the Sonoma County Library to schedule a 10-day shutdown over the year-ending holidays to help achieve a $1.7 million budget cut.

All 13 libraries will be closed from 2 p.m. Dec. 24 until Jan. 4, with more than 200 library workers and managers furloughed for that period, Library Director Sandy Cooper said.

The library Web site and all online services, which have become increasingly popular, will be shut as well.

Cooper said the closure will be a hardship for library patrons, but given the system’s budget crunch it seemed a better alternative than laying off staff, eliminating programs or raising fees, such as overdue book fines.

“We are the free public library,” she said. “We serve everybody.”

Last year, about 2.6 million people visited public libraries and checked out more than 3 million books, DVDs, audiobooks and other items.

Two patrons said they could take the shutdown in stride, but a Santa Rosa school librarian said many students head for the public libraries to research assignments over the holidays.

“It’s symptomatic, isn’t it?” said David Cameron of Santa Rosa, who biked to the Central Library to drop books in a return slot.

“I can take my books out for a month, can’t I?” Cameron said, noting that the burden of the closure will fall on library workers.

“It’s too bad, but what else are you going to do?” said Anna Young of Santa Rosa, returning an arm load of books. “We can’t keep on taxing.”

Cathy Collins, librarian at Montgomery High School, said the shutdown would be a problem for students who need to do research over the holidays, when school campuses and libraries are closed.

“It’s going to create a disservice to our students,” Collins said.

Students who can’t afford to buy the books they need will be the most impacted by the closure. The public library, founded by Benjamin Franklin, “has always been the great equalizer,” Collins said.

Cooper said the shutdown will save about $163,000 in wages. Rollback of a 2 percent pay raise and an increased retirement contribution — both accepted by the library workers’ union — will save an additional $195,000, she said.

In all, those cuts amount to a 4.75 percent reduction in library employee pay for the year, Cooper said. Early retirements and other operating cost cuts bring the savings to $1,244,000, leaving a deficit of $500,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30.

Sagging home prices caused a drop in the assessed value of property in Sonoma County for the first time in history, resulting in an estimated $9 million drop in revenue for local government services, officials said earlier this year.

A similar 10-day library holiday closure was imposed in 1992, also to offset a budget deficit, Cooper said.

The county library system is a joint powers agency created by the county and cities, deriving 90 percent of its revenue from property taxes.

The Library Commission is waiting to see how property tax revenues fare before deciding on steps to close the estimated $500,000 budget gap.

“We are trying to beef up fund-raising,” Cooper said.

Volunteer groups help support the system that includes a Central Library in downtown Santa Rosa, 10 regional libraries, two rural stations, bookmobile service and online library services.

The system’s annual operating budget is $16.6 million.

Young said she borrows print books for herself and her grandchildren and DVDs for entertainment while driving.

Sissy Spacek’s reading of “To Kill A Mockingbird” in her southern accent was terrific, Young said.