Amid Cuts, Library Remains Popular Community Resource

Sophia Wen arrived at the San Bruno Public Library around 10 a.m. on a Wednesday earlier this month — the same time she usually arrives when she comes every week.

But when she walked up to the door, she was surprised to find the library was closed. She had lost a CD she checked out and had overdue books and she needed to speak to a librarian. So she had to come back later that afternoon, which disrupted her day.

"I just drove from home, so it was a waste of my gas and my time," said Wen, 41, a South San Francisco resident, as her 3-year-old daughter frolicked around her. "It was not very convenient."

San Bruno has made budget cuts across the board among city departments. But none have attracted as much attention as those to library services.

At a July City Council meeting, Councilwoman Irene O'Connell made a special request to city staff to explore an alternative to the $70,000 proposed cut to the library's 2010 fiscal year budget of $1.9 million.

The city proposed the reduction to help close a $1.85 million deficit from its $31.3 million budget. For the library, that would have meant more library hours eliminated, including closing it on Fridays, and part-time staffing reductions.

Instead, the city decided to pull money from a fund for which the library receives support from the state. The library still had to cut back on staffing and reduce its daily operating hours by an additional eight hours a week. But this kept the library open for four hours on Fridays.

Now, the library is learning to operate on a leaner budget while still trying to give the public a similar level of service — although the cuts are still definitely being felt, said John Alita, the assistant library services director.

"We're all working more on the desk shifts, and there are fewer people at busier times," Alita said. "It's like a domino effect. We have to keep the doors open, so most of our administrative things just have to wait now."

The cuts to the library have hit staff the hardest. Over the last few years, the library has had to lay off two full-time librarians. The cuts this year will limit the amount of hours part-time staff can work on nights and weekends, which means patrons may have to wait a little longer for some services.

The library also has less money to spend on books and supplies, Alita said.

However, changes are being made so that patrons can still use the library without having to miss out on too much of what they had before.

For example, Alita said, the library is looking into moving its self-checkout scanner toward the front of the building to encourage more people to use it, which would allow staff to respond to other patron issues more quickly at the front desk.

Alita said the library is also looking to eventually upgrade its bar code scanning technology so that patrons can check out multiple books all at once.

Additionally, library staff are encouraging people to take advantage of the services the library offers online, which include tutoring services, research databases and downloadable audiobooks.

And construction will start soon to make the library more accessible to the disabled.

Library Circulation and Visits are Up

For all the cuts taking place, however, the library doesn't have to make that much of a case for why it was worth saving from this year's fiscal chopping block.

Since 2005, library circulation has increased more than 37 percent, and daily traffic has increased nearly 13 percent over the last four years, according to city records.

On any given day, you can find the library's computer station rotating with people looking for jobs, surfing the Web or doing research.

You can also find patrons like Ethel Mann, 79, a San Bruno resident who considers the library her weekly getaway from life's hardships.

"My husband has Alzheimer's, and I have a pacemaker, I've survived several cancers and I have arthritis," Mann said. "So this is my escape."

In fact, she said, right in between her driver's license and her medical card in her purse, is her library card.

"It's that important," she said.

The library is open from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 1 – 5 p.m. on Fridays and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturdays.