HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-08-17; Library Board of Trustees; MinutesMINUTES
MEmNG OF:
TlME OF MEETING:
DATE OF MEmNG:
PLACE OF MEmNG:
LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
3:OO p.m.
August 17,1994
City Council Conference Room
CALL TO ORDER:
President Woodward called the Meeting to order at 3:OO p.m.
ROLL CALL
Present: Library Board Trustees Woodward, L'Heureux and Moss.
Absent: Library Board Trustee McCann. Library Board Trustee Curtin arrived at 3:06 p.m.
Also Present: Cliff Lange, Library Director
Geoff Armour, Assistant Library Director
Barbara Otwell, Friends of the Library
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
On motion by Library Board Trustee L'Heureux, the Minutes of the Regular Meeting held June 15, 1994,
were approved as amended.
AYES: Woodward, L'Heureux and Moss
MONTHLY LIBRARY DIVISION HEADS REPORTS
President Woodward referred to the reports contained in the packet, and asked for comments or
questions.
Board Trustee L'Heureux stated she is always amazed at how many people from everywhere else come
here to Carlsbad to do Genealogy.
LIBRARY BOARD COMMENTS
President Woodward irygired about whether there was any feedback from Mr. Foglestrom's visit, and Dr.
Lange stated there has been no official word back. He was impressed with Carlsbad and the Centro.
FUNDING OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO CALIFORNIA PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND DISCUSSION WITH CITY
FINANCE DIRECTOR, LISA HILDABRAND.
Dr. Lange introduced Lisa Hildabrand, Finance Director, who distributed copies of the History of Revenue
Losses for the City of Carlsbad, tables showing revenues, Operating Funds, Revenue Estimates for 1994-
95, Assessed Property Values for the last ten fiscal years and Proposed Assessments and Other Charges.
She explained that the State of California could still take more funds from the cities, including Carlsbad,
and the final state of Carlsbad's budget won't be known until that happens.
August 17,1994 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Page 2
FUNDING OPTIONS (Continued)
,
Ms. Hildabrand stated that it will probably be another year or two of tight budgets for the City. Financing
alternatives include a benefit assessment district, and the Finance Department is watching that option.
There is also a parcel tax and a special tax, but those would require a 2/3 vote, and would be levied on
real property other than assessed value. Another method is Mello-Roos. A community facilities district
can be formed with a special tax on that district; but that also requires a 2/3 vote of the people. Ms.
Hildabrand stated that a parcel tax is easier. There is also a section in the Mello-Roos taw that says that
charges could be set similar to a county service area, and no vote is required. The City Council or the
Board of Supervisors could take that action. However, there is a protest provision.
Ms. Hildabrand stated that nothing else she found would fund the operation of the new library. She
referred to the list of proposed assessments and other charges with the charges already approved and
those that have been proposed. If all of those were approved, it would be a total of $220.55 per single
family resident.
Dr. Lange stated he will get more information on this subject from the State Library.
Library Board Trustee Curtin stated he would like to compete with the others requesting assessments and
determine whether or not the people of Carlsbad still would support their libraries.
At the present time, the City has a 45 percent delinquency on taxes on vacant land. Ms. Hildabrand
stated that owners can re-zone their land LC, which is Limited Control, and from then on they do not owe
the taxes, but they still owe the back taxes.
President Woodward stated that he had tried to find out what the people thought about Mello-Roos, and
also about using the Water Department and their new equipment to include something in the water bills.
He stated that this could be in the form of an advisory vote for a tax to support the new library. Several
ideas for the language were expressed, and President Woodward stated that the language would need
to be determined.
ACTION: On motion by Library Board Trustee Curtin, the Library Board directed staff to
determine how to get a survey on the Water District billing system, and to find the
limitations as far as space and what can be put on the bill.
AYES: Woodward, Curtin, L'Heureux and Moss
Dr. Lange commented that the City Council would have to approve this action.
President Woodward said that after the plan has been completed, then it would be taken to the City
Council. Dr. Lange suggested that this action be delayed until after the November election.
LIBRARY REFERENCE SERVICES REPORT
Charlene Kennedy gave a comprehensive report on the reference services in the library, stating it has
been a very busy year due to the recession and the closing and shortening of hours in County libraries.
The Carlsbad library is one of very few that is open in the evenings.
August 17,1994 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Page 3 ,
LIBRARY REFERENCE SERVICES REPORT (Continued)
Ms. Kennedy told of the basic services provided by the Reference Department and the challenging impact
of new technology on the services. She said that one example is Voice Mail, which gives patrons an
opportunity to leave a message while freeing up the staff to take care of patrons that are there in person.
Dr. Lange commented that the new additions in technology this past year have all been made possible
by the Friends of the Library--that all of the money has come from them.
Ms. Kennedy told of the Reference Training classes held every Friday at 8:OO a.m., and anyone interested
in attending should call the Reference Department at the Library.
Dr. Lange suggested that any Board Members desiring a tour of the Reference Department could do that
after today’s meeting.
NOMINATION FOR CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES AND COMMISSIONERS
OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER SERVICE TO A LIBRARY
Dr. Lange reported that the application is being processed, and is due September 4. There was one
adjustment made, and that was to nominate Carrie Scott and her husband .as a team. The Board
Members concurred with this change.
LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT - 1993-94
Copies of the Annual Report were distributed to the Board Members.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
Dr. Lange reported that the strategic plan is being worked on, with the data analysis being done at
SANDAG. The data is expected to be back to the Library next week. The bids for the remodeling of the
restrooms for the ADA will be opened tomorrow. This will go to Council September 6, and the work
should be started in the middle of September. Nothing can be done about the coffee cart until after that
remodeling is finished. Geoff Armour and Dr. Lange met with a restaurant owner to discuss the elements
of a contract for the coffee cart. Dr. Lange will meet with Ruth Fletcher, Purchasing Agent, to discuss how
this should be done, and after the September Board meeting, Dr. Lange will take this request to issue a
request for proposals to the Council for approval.
Dr. Lange stated that there will be a Southeast Quadrant meeting next Tuesday night, and he will be on
the agenda. The Branch Library will be featured. The Library has applied to the League of California
Cities for the Helen Putnam Award for the Centro. Dr. Lange said they will know the results September
25, as to whether the application has been chosen. The award will be announced at the League’s annual
conference, with a presentation by Governor Wilson in early November.
Dr. Lange said that Pac Bell has a plan to install up to four IDS lines in public libraries and schools in their
service territory, and would give the library the ability to use them free for one year, with special rates after
that. The gift of the lines has been ,approved by the PUC, and this Library is in the queue.
Dr. Lange said that the incoming President of the California Library Association has asked him to Chair
the Membership Committee. This was after Dr. Lange was not elected President by only ten votes.
August 17,1994 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Page 4
>
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY:
Barbara Otwell stated she was pleased that the Library was pleased with the money presented to them
by the Friends. She commented on the presentation made at Council Meeting last evening, where the
Friends were presented a Certificate of Appreciation. Ms. Otwell reminded everyone of the next book sale,
September 24, and the first meeting of the Friends for the fall on September 15.
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY:
No report.
SERRA ADWSORY BOARD:
President Woodward reported that there will be an orientation program on September 1, at 9:00 a.m. at
the Serra Research Center, San Diego Public Library. He reported that the coffee service in the libraries
was discussed, with the presentation of the new Escondido Library coffee cart. The Library will operate
the cart and the name selected by a contest was 'Grounds for Reading'.
PUBLIC COMMEKT:
None.
ADJOURNMENT:
By proper motion, the Regular Meeting of August 17, 1994, was adjourned at 4:42 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Minutes Clerk
ADULT LEARNING PROGRAM
Monthly Report July 1994
1. Conmuter Lab
Volunteer Randy Scott installed the new computers in the
computer lab. The computers previously there were transferred to the Main Library.
- 2. Classroom resources
Using grant money, the program acquired a set of World Book EncvcloDedias and atlases for the classrooms. Learners and tutors are enjoying using these in connection with their reading and writing.
_. 3. Visits to other Drourams
Shirley Taylor, our VISTA volunteer, and several tutors have
started visiting other adult literacy programs and G,E.D./high
school diploma programs. The information gained from these
visits will assist us in improving the quality of the
instruction we provide learners and in preparing those who
want to work toward a G.E.D./high school diploma. In July
Shirley and 2 tutors visited the Vista Adult Education Program
and the San Diego Public Library READ/San Diego computer lab.
On July 13 and 14, tutor Carrie Scott conducted inservice training for 21 current tutors. The training focused on helping learners develop Wisualizing and Verbalizing Skills,1'
(getting pictures in the mind and then describing what is
seen). These skills are critical for comprehension, but many
adult learners have never developed them.
- 4. Inservice traininq
- 5. Small uroum tutorinq
On Saturday, July 30, eleven tutors from this program attended
a training in National City on how to conduct tutoring in small groups, in addition to one-to-one, The training was sponsored by the San Diego Council on Literacy for all adult literacy programs in the county; 11 of the 23 tutors
attending were from Carlsbad! Those attending from here will
follow up with discussions on how to start small group
tutoring in Carlsbad.
- 6. Pete Woou Memorial
Longtime tutor Pete Woog died suddenly on July 19. A retired Marine, Pete had recently worked part-time for Bank of America, where his wife had worked fulltime for many years.
In Pete's memory, colleagues at Bank of America and personal friends are making donations to the Adult Learning Program.
The 93/94 fourth quarter grant report was submitted to the State Library.
- 7. California Library Literacy Services (CLLS) crrant
CHILDREN'S SERVICES
MONTHLY STATEMENT
JULY 1994
Children's Services was working at maximum speed for the
Summer Reading Program during the month of July. The variety
of programs had nearly a thousand in attendance. As of the
month of July, just over 800 children were participating in
the reading aspect of the Summer Reading Program. Children
.I are continuing to sign up and report books.
Many programs were arranged to take advantage of the general
theme of transportation and the "Around the World in 80 wayst8
theme. This included the Stagecoach rides provided by Wells
Fargo at the La Costa branch, a bilingual song program at Centro
de Informacion, and the "Mountain Mushers" program. Other programs
had informational or educational functions, as well as being
entertaining.
as the leader showed the equipment used for dogsled teams and
The Mountain Mushers was also an example of this,
* talked about the training process. He also brought his very:well
trained dogs for the children to meet. Darwin returned with his
popular and educational Reptile show, including his 10 foot
Monty Python. Jae Gandelman taught tZle children about ventriloquism
I
and made them laugh. The traditional Teddy Bear Picnic featured
Mr- Dave singing teddy bear songs and leading the teddy bear
parade. The wild Wheels program encouraged children to decorate
their wheeled vehicles and join the staff for a contest and
parade in Holiday Park.
-.;.!.': _' . .-
During the month of July we were also running the Jelly Bean guessing
contest, the "Around the World in 80 ways" contest and had weekly
July also brought the culmination of the puppet stage project.
Eagle Scout Nick Groth built the stage, incorporating every
improvement that the Children's staff could think of, and
presented it to the Library- The Library had a small reception
for Nick, his family and friends and his scoutmaster, in honor of
the presentation. This was like an early Christmas present for
the division and for the children of Carlsbad.
Many thanks go to Bill Richmond and Jeannie of Media Graphics for
the wonderful work they have done this summer fn documeaatmg 'th4.
many activities of the Summer Reading Program.
', . - . -
..
..
..
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND ACQUISITIONS
STATISTICS REPORT . July 1994
Current Month Fiscal
Items Received BCT Direct PMSC Total to Date
Books - Adult
Year --------------------------------------
-------------- ................................................
Main 438 192 630 630 Branch 71 4 75 75 Centro 0 13 13 13
subtotal 509 209 718 718
Books - Children
Main
Branch Centro
subtotal
71
6
0
77
0
0
25
25
71
6
25
102
71
6
25
102
Audio - Adult 86 - 28 114 114
Audio - Children 0 1 1 1
Video 65 7 70 142 142
Total Received 737 270 70 I, 077 1,077 --------------------------------------------------------------
Orders Placed current Fiscal month Year to Date -uI-------- ..
----uIII-U-----.-wI-------------------
Orders 78 78 Requests (items) 814 814
Direct-ordered Videos Cataloged at PEiSC
videos
B & T = Baker SI Taylor
PMSC = Professional Media Services Corporation
’ Genealogy - Local’History Statistics FY 1994 - 1995 July
HOLDINGS :
Ti tlas
Vol.ume s
Current Total Total Total Month Additions Holdings Holdings
Additions Current FY Last FY
Description of holdings: Titles Volumes Cataloged in INLEX
Books 8 , 913 11,257 Non-Circ. 14 422
Books - GEN-CIRC 765 Circ . 765
Books - Microform 16 , 320 17,722 Microform 14 , S60
Periodicals - Bound 427 3 I 035 Total 29 , 747
Periodicals - Microform 145 1,690
Maps 179 183
Microfilm (census, etc.! 4 I 893 4,918
Microforms added this month:
Film
Fiche
70 5 I 3.03
142 86,777
CALENDARYEARGOALS: This month Total calendar year
Volunteer hours 36 232
Programs held 4 28
Attendance 196 1,424
NSDCGS book/equipnent expenditures $2,262.30 $17,648.66
ACTIVITY: This This +, - Total Total
Month Month This FY Last FY
Last FY
-55 1,204 14,608 Reference questims 11204 1,259
Researchers registered - 1 I 007 979 +28 1,007 11,231
Daily average 40 38 +2 40 ’ 38
Daily average 48 49 -1 48 49
Circulating checkout 151 138 +13 151 2 ,010
Dailyaverage 6 5 +1 6 7
DISlRIEWTION OF RESEARCHERS: .
City
Carlsbad
Del Mar area
East S.D. area
Encinitas area
Escondido area
Fallbrook Oceanside s.n. City: etc.
San Marcos Vista -
This This County This - Th$s
mth FY mnth FY
1 1 -- 194 , 194 Fresno -- IILIIIwrbl 11 22 22 Lose. In In
6161-8383 - 29 29 - 05 5 166166s2?maam11
53 53 Riverside 24 24 --
I.. ,
LA COSTA BRANCH LIBRARY
Monthly Report
July 1994
*CIRCULATION*
Branch circulation was 22,495 for the month of July. This total included 10,877 adult items, 8,382 children's items and 3,236 video tapes. Circulation averaged 87 items an hour or 900 items a day. This was an increase of 5% over July 1993.
*USERS*
The total number of library users in July was 18,533. This was
an average of 71 each hour or 741 each day. The total number of users increased 27%. Hourly increase was 31% and users per day
rose 32%.
*CHILDREN'S*
The Summer Reading Program "Around the World in 80 Ways"
highlighted the activities in the Children's Room. 307 children,
preschool through 8th grade registered with over 100 completing
10 books. An average of 40 children reported each day.
Weekly Grograms included Singing Strings (Irish harp, guitar and voice), an origami demonstration with emphasis on Japanese culture, Darwin's Reptiles featuring turtles and tortoises and
the Wells Fargo Stagecoach which gave rides to nearly:200','1 children.
*VOLUNTEERS*
Volunteers have made a considerable impact on the Branch facility.
1184 hours were logged in July. Nearly half of these helped support
the Summer Reading Program. Several volunteers have logged
over 30 hours shelving books. And one student earning community
service credits committed 2 afternoons a week to encourage
patrons to use the self checkout system.
*SELF-CHECKOUT*
The daily average of items checked out on the automated self-
check system was 39.8. This was an increase of 8.7% over June.
Total self-check circulation was 875. It is eveident by observation that the volunteer has encouraged first time users who will repeat use of the system on subsequent visits.
Self-check suffered 3 days of down time early in the month which was reflected in the decrease of 8% of the systenk circulation.
A connection from the keyboard to the central processing unit (CPU) malfunctioned on the July 5th. 3M replaced the the CPU and the
system began functioning.
now run smoothly. It is expected that the system will
6 n LlJ
6 m cn I E 6
FY
94-95
Media Graphics
PARTNERSHIPS FOR CHANGE/CENTRO DE INFORMACION
Monthly Report
July 1994
1.- Adult Pro- . E. On July 18, students from CSU San Marcos visited the Centro de
Informaci6n. Centro Supervisor Lizeth Simonson gave a presentation describing the
services and the role of the Centro in the community. These students are working to
acquire their credentials in Teaching and Special Education including a cross-cultural
emphasis.
2.- chilws Pro7 PI. On July 7, in conjunction with the Children’s Department at
the Main Library, the Centro presented a bilingual program with the participation of
Cristina Orin, a bilingual singer. On July 14, children from the 5th and 6th grades
attending Migrant Education Summer School at Pine School visited the Centro for a
storytime. On July 26, a group of 18 children from the neighborhood, accompanied by
Centro Supervisor Lizeth Simonson and two volunteers, walked to the City Council
Chambers to attend a special event arranged for the children as part of the Summer
Reading Program.
3.- Summer Readinn Pronram. - By July 31, the Centro staff had enrolled 167 children in
the program. There has been a notable increase in children’s individual visits to the
Centro. During August children made over 1,200 separate visits to the Centro.
4.- Tour at the Main Librarv . On July 18, a group of children attending summer school
at Magnolia Elementary School visited the Main Library. Centro Supervisor Lizeth
Simonson showed the students and teachers around the library, pointing out the location
of various materials and services. At the end of the tour the Head of Children’s, John
Quartarone, demonstrated the use of the computer catalog.
5.- Communitv PartnershiD. Centro Supervisor Lizeth Simonson has been working with
Mrs. Veronica L. Bram, Director of American Red Cross North Coastal Service Center, on
plans for a Healthy Kids Fair to be held August 27, at Pine Elementary School.
6.- PFC Ouart erlv ReDo rt. The third quarterly report for the 93/94 year was submitted
to the State Library.
REFERENCE ACTIVITIES FOE JULY, 1994
Reference questions totsled 6432 during the month of July,
an increase of 134 over last year. ~eserves totaled I 054, a
decrease of 179 over last year. Online Searches totaled 25, a
decrease ot 18 over I& year.
During the month of July, there were 2 Reference Skills C!asses,
On July 5, Char Kennedy attended a Strategic Plannina Committee
&dmos and 4 toiJrs.
Meeting.
There W~S a Reference Materials Selection Committee Meeting on July 7:
f 156 1-00 was spent to update reference materials and $?03.00 w3s
spent on new reference sources. July 7 was also Reference Librarian
4nn Perrigo's last day in the Reference Department, where she has
Morked for 10 years. Leila Dooley has assumed her duties as Interlibrary
,oan Librarian. Penny Thompson is also being trained to assist with ILL
'or 6 hours per week and work the Reference Desk 14 hours per week.
The Automation Committee met on July 14, with Callie Ahrens
ind Char Kennedy representing Reference. It was decided to meet quarterly
io pursue the recommendations of the Automation Task Force.
On July 20, Dick Lohnes, Regiona? Representative from EBSCO, gave
I wor~snop on how to utilize EBSCO's CD-ROM products, including
iEALTH SOURCE and MAGAZINE ARTICLES FULL-TEXT.
Finally, at the end of July, two additional computers were
istalled on the LAN for the CD-ROM Library in Reference. Now four
latrons can use our CD-ROM products at the same time. Currently
here are two printers available; two more are being purchased by the
riends of the Library as well as the HEALTH SOURCE for Main and
ranch.
Tec'hnical Services Report
July 1994
I,
In July, Technical Services staff added 990 books and 316
audiovisual items to the library's collection. A total of 303
books and 122 A-V items were withdrawn from the collection.
Library users with computers made 358 calls to the library8s
dial-up catalog in July. In addition, the library catalog was
accessed through Main Street on Daniels Cablevision 161 times.
The 3M SelfCheck station at the La Costa branch was used to check out a total of 870 items during the 23 days it was
available in July.
day.
This is an average of almost 38 items per
Overall, July was a quiet month, without the excitement of
June, when Technical Services staff member Terry Bradshaw
announced that she was expecting twins, or the frenzied activity of early August, when we lost a day's worth of data for both
circulation and database maintenance due to the failure of a disk drive on our Hewlett-Packard mini-computer just as the backup was
being made. This is the first loss of data we've experienced
since we moved to Hewlett-Packard computers with our purchase of
the INLEX system in 1987.
CLSI, Inc., ran on a DEC computer which was considerably more
trouble-prone.
details in next month's report.
our previous system, a product of
I'll have a fuller analysis of this and more
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC LIBRARIES: AN OVERVIEW
Cy Silver, Consultant,
California State Library, December, 1993
There is no legal mandate for public libraries in California. All exist under permissive legislation, either
state general law or charter city home rule. It is a tribute to the people's sense of what is important that
all but a few Californians are residents of a jurisdiction that voluntarily contributes to tax-provided public
library service.
There are 170' public libraries in Calihmia. That number is a fortunate contrast to libraries in eastern
states. There, states like New York or Pennsylvania or even Iowa each have 700 or 800 public libraries. Simple arithmetic dictates that most of those eastern libraries are considerably smaller than California libraries aad hence lack the opportunity for economies of scale found here.
Indeed, most California libraries are large enough to offer some flexibility in service. The largest public libraries are found in Los Angeles County - the Los Angela (City) Public Library and the Los Angeles County Public Library. Each serves well over three million people. Altogether, there are 30 California
public libraries which each seme over 200,000 people.
On the other hand, 21 public libraries serve populations less than 15,000. Again in contrast to other
states, almost of those can afford some professional mg. However, that does not extend to the smallest libraries, of which the smallest two are also in Los Angeles County: the City of Irwindale Public
Library, serving 1,050 people, and the City of Vernon Public Library, serving its 150 residents.
In 1992/93, the thew169 California public libraries between them operated 159 main libraries, 633 branch
libraries (with substantial hours and staffing), 267 stations (with very limited hours and staffing), and 63
bookmobiles serving almost 2,000 stops.
The remainder of this paper describes the organizational types of public librariis in California, and their
funding.
I Then are 170 libraries at the time of writing in 1993/94. Unless otherwise indicated, all remaining data are
from 1992/93 reports, at which time there were 169 public libraries.
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC LIBRARIES: AN OVERVIEW (December 1993)
A. TYPES OF PUBUC LJBRARJES.
The four organizational types of California public'libraries - city, county, citycounty, and special
district - are described below. The first three types, comprising 156 of the 169 library jurisdictions,
operate as departments of local general government.
1. City libraries.
105 (106 in 1993194) of California's 470 cities administer libraries; those municipal libraries serve 44%
of the state's 31,550,000 population. Most of the smaller city libraries operate under the general law,
with an administrative policy board of appointed trustees. Their library director serves at the pleasure of
the city council. Most of the larger city libraries are in charter cities. Generally speaking, they have
-ve boards, although some charters provide for advisory boards instead. Many of the charter
city administrative boards have authority to appoint the library director:
..
City libraries are Wed by the budget process from the city's general fund or other available sources;
them is no dedicated tax source available to city libraries unless a city charter provides for it or (as in
a few cities) a voter-approved special parcel tax. Some cities serve adjacent Unincorporated areas by
contract with the county.
In 1-3, of the rcmahing 365 cities without separate libraries, 336 were swed by the county library,
under the county librarian or the city librarian who directs a cityaunty library; 22 by special library districer other than an Joint Exercise of Powers autkity; thtw by the city partner of a city-county
library; three by contract for access to neighboring city libraries. Two (Indian Wells, population 2,100,
and hiustry, population 390) are not taxed for libraries and are not served, althougb the school district in Wi Wells contraas for its students to have access to Riverside City-County Library service.
Not every city has a separate library facility. How&, in 1993/94, an as-yet unknown number facilities
in several cities served by county libraries were closed because of reductions in county library budgek.
A number of cities served by counq libraries directly contribute to part of the operation of their branch
library through local appropriations.
2. County libraries.
48 of California's 58 counties admhister public library departmedts, Senring 44% of the state population.
The Board of Supervisors appoints the County Librarian and sets policy for the library. 29 of the 48
county libraries scrve the entin county, the remaining 19 sccve all areas not served by some other libriuy authority, including othmise-unserved cities as well as the unincorporated areas.
24 of the 48 county libraries are funded primarily by a proration of the ad valorem property tax in their
service area, because for property tax purposes they are considered to be like special districts. (Sometimes
local officials refer to those county libraries as "the library district"; however, that only reflects their
property tax status, not their government.) Those county libraries may ais0 be allocated county general
funds, and some are.
2
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC LIBRARIES: AN OVERVIEW (December 19931
23 of the other 24 county libraries are funded primarily by the budget process from the county general
find. They do not have any guaranteed property tax proration or other dedicated funding source. These
are all in rural counties, most of them with small populations. The remaining county library, Modoc
County, is funded by a special parcel tax.
The remaining 10 counties of the 58 .are served in 1993/94 as follows. One very small county is served
by contract with an adjacent county. Two other counties are served by contract with the two or three
cities that administer libraries in the county. Three counties are served by combined citycounty libraries
(see 3. below). There are in addition three counties sewed by special districts (see 4. below). San
Francisco, uniquely both a City and a County, is included among the city libraries.
, 3. Combination citycounty libraries.
Three counties contract with their large central city for its library to operate the county library service (e.g., Stockton-San Joaquin County Library). The City appoints the Librarian. The city-county library
ed as a single entity. Funding by the cities is like that for any city library; the three
counties involved contribute a prop- tax proration. Over 5% of the state's 1992/93 population was
served by these cityaunty libraries. mere are additional libraries whose names imply city-county form
of organization, but the cities so named are completely merged into the county system, and the library
is administered by the counties involved.)
.. is usually admlmsm
4. Special districts.
11 of the single-purpose special district libraries, including Del Norte county Library, are organized
under one of three different general law statutes that authorize special library districts. Each is governed
by an eleaed board of txustees, and serves from one to three Cities and some amount of contiguous
unincorporated area. The largest serves 84,OOO people, the smallest 16,000, and together these 11 swe
a little over 1% of the state's population. They are entirely dependent on a proration of the ad valorem
property tax collected in their service area and any additional voter-approved special tax.
Two additional libraries sewing their entire counties are technically special districts, because they are
organized as Harate agencies under the Joint Exercise of Powers act Sonoma County Library aad (as
of 1993194) Sacramento Public Libra$. Each has a board of directon appointed by the signatory
jurisdictions and funaing by contributory fbrmula from those jurisdictions. Those two together serve 5%
of the state's population.
' h 1-3 the libtuy 8 fmrtb dQ-9 libq, with the couWy contributioncoming from the gmd
fund. Subsequent legislation restored to the county libmy its prior property tax portion, which is used for its share
of JPA operations.
3
CALIFORNIA PUBUC LIBRARIES: AN OVERVIEW (December 19931
Library funding can be viewed from several aspects. One is counties vs. all others. Another is
expenditure levels. A third is sue. The fourth is the state role. And finally, there are two areas where
legal constraints on funding sources affect service.
1. Counties as compared with cities.
With few exceptions, county libraries are Eacing extreme budget pressures. Recent state budget actions
have drastically changed the formula for distribution of the ad valorem property tax, whether to libraries with a separate tax proration or to the parent county. In some cases, county library funds have been
halved from the nominal amounts available only a few years previous.
'
Among counties, rural counties are particularly hard pressed because of their extreme dependence on the
property tax. Agricultural land values have not prospered and the depressed rural economy does not
generate higher-value residenrial resales. The agricultural areas do not generate sales tax comparable to
that of urbanized ateas. Bezause the state does not fully meet the growing costs of mandated county
services, such as wdfh and justice, counties must subsidize those from their limited discretionary sources. That leaves little funding for libraries, parks and other discretionary programs. As indicated in
the following section, it is the rural counties that spend the least on library service.
Cities have the dative luxury of a widex range of revenue sources. Sales tax is a particularly helpful
source, as cities incorporate, annex shopping centers, etc. Cities also do not have the mandated state
functions that counties do, and can be more flexible in deciding their services. Charter cities in particular
have a wide range of options.
Until 1993/94, urban county libraries, all ptoperty-tax based, had enough growing suburban cities in their
tax base that they generally could provide a mom stable levd of service. However, as noted above, recent
state budget actions have cut into that long-standing stability. I
2. Expenditure levels.
Expenditure per capita is the most common surrogate measure hr quality of service. As a benchmark,
in 1992/93 a "Foundation Program', which ;according to the Public Library Fi Act represents a
reasonable level of service, cost $17.69 per capita.
In 1992193, among the then-169 libraries, the greatest per capita expenditure fot library service was
$141.23, by the City of Commerce. That was almost 40 times that of the smallest, $3.58 by Shasta
County. Next highest are Irwindale ($126.29), Alpine Co. (S112.22), Berkeley ($70.30) and El Segundo
($67.81). (Since hindale and Alpine County each have little more than 1,OOO population each, their high
per capita does not necessarily provide high service levels.) The next six highest are in the low $503;
the next five in the $403; 29 are in the $303 per capita.
Seventeen of the 19 lowest libraries reporting are county libraries (the other two being special districts),
and all are rural; all but two of those 17 county libraries are general fund-based, and were above $7 per
capita. Among the ten lowest, seven had per capita support in the $5'~ per capita. The low- three were
4
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC LIBRARIES: AN OVERVIEW (December 1993)
Butte County ($4.86), LassIm County ($4.09), and Shasta County ($3.58). The amounts for those three lowest-funded libraries we less than they enjoyed only 5 years earlier, and inflation has made the differences even larger. Other rural libraries are similarly reduced from earlier years.
The two largest libraries, Los Angeles (City) Public Library and Los Angeles County Public Library,
spent $10.92 and $18.28 per capita respecti~ely.~
The 23 general fund-based county libraries, all rural, spent a meau per capita of $8.30, compared to
$16.12 spent by property tax-based county libraries (including cityaunty libraries and the two Joint
Exercise of Powers libraries), and $19.55 spent by municipal libraries, over twice as much.
3. size.
S'm does provide economies of scale, as noted in the beginning of this paper. However, there is no obvious correlation between size and per capita fuading levels.
4. State role.
There is some state acceptance of responsibility to assist public libraries. A Public Library Fund ("PLF")
statute authorizes a state contribution toward a 90/10 local/state match for a defined "Foundation
Program". For 1992/93, the per capita value of the Foundation Program is valued at $17.69, so a local
appropriation of $15.92 would be eligible for a state contribution of $1.77 if the state appropriated the
full authorized amount. Local appropriations beyond 90% of the Foundation Program cost do not attract
additional state funds. The actual state appropriation in 1992/93 was about onefourth the authorized
amount, or about 2.5% of the overaIl cost of the Foundation Program.
Prior to 1992193 and the partial shift of property taxes from counties to K-12 education, all but one or
two public libraries annually met the maintenance of effort requirement needed to qualify for PLF
subventions. However, as a result of local budget problems, in 1-3 only 153 of the 169 libraries
qualified. In 1993/94, 144 libraries of the 170 qualify outright, and an additional 22 that do not qualify have requested waivers made possible by one-time legislation.
Although the Public Library Finance Act is an important source of operating funds for local library
service, it cannot be considered an equal'lzation program as long as the local funds are well over 90% of
the budget.
Costs of providhg service beyond one's own boundaries are addressed by the California Library Services
Act ("CLSA"). CLSA reimburses public libraries for the incremental costs of over-the-counter loans to
residents of other libraries' service areas and for loans to and from other libraries, and supports some
shared regional services that supplement local service. CLSA also partially subsidizes adult literacy
programs in 84 public libraries of the more than 100 libraries that offer that service.
' At the time of Writing, La Angeles County reports that in 1993/94 it will bave $36 million - 48 % - less than
in 1992/93. The budgets of two other libraries, both rural - one county, OLLC muoicippl - am being reduced to zero.
5
CALIFORNIA WBUC UBRARIES: AN OVERVIEW (Oacernbr 1993)
5. Legal constraints.
There are two other areas where the law restrains library financing. The first is the overall Proposition
13 freeze on ad valorem (assessed value) property tax rates; a two-thirds vote is required to enact a
"special tax" on some other aspect of property than its value, to supplement the ad valorem tax. Although well over a score of jurisdictions have sought such voter approval to enhance Wing for their local libraries, only eight have succeeded. One, Berkeley, has succeeded twice, once in 1979 and again in
1988; the 1988 election placed its per capita expenditure among the highest in the state.
The second is that all libraries operating under the general law are prohibited from charging their
residents fees for basic services. "his includes all counties aad special districts, and most cities. All
charter cities also adopt this principle for their libraries, Experience throughout the country is that
imposition of fees significantly inhibits use of public libraries, especially by children and otheks of modest means, and does not realize appreciable income - certainly not emugh to of€sec the staff cost of collecting
it. However, concerned taxpayers and govdg body mcmbas continually revisit the question, as they
seek ways to provide funds not available through the normal appropriation.
.-
.6
EBSCO's CD-ROM products are branching
out to fit your growing needs!
Health Source Database Features
I Comprehensive indexing and abstrac:: for over 160 periodicals relating to consumer health Full Text of I 5 tides including ???e New EnglandJoumanal dMedcine
I Coverage of journals in the fields of diet & nutrition, exercise, medical self-care.
drugs & alcohol, and consumer prcducK
No charge for Local Area Networking Available on Magnetic Tape EBSCO K'BLISHINC
EBSCCXD Software Features
I Keyword & subject search with full
I Keyword searchable ASCII Full Text Collecrion Control System
Easy-to-use menu-driven software with fill-In-theblank screens
Boolean capacity
Local Holdings
Local Notes Collection Development Statistics -
! ,.. .
2.( I -Ir
€
A ing for I60 periodicals in the
fields of diet and numon, exer-
cise, medical selkare. drugs and alcohol and
much more. Searchable Full Text is included for
I5 journals.
The journals included in Heal& Sie have
been selected through careful analysis of health
related titles with the highest subscriber volume in
academic and large public libraries. You can be
confident your patrons will have convenient ac-
cess to the journals in your collmon. The Full
Text amcles from I5 important titles, such as i7e
Mw EqWJwmf dWK& are induded
along wth pemnent cham and graphs.
Many hospital libraries are finding h'ea We to be the perf& research tool for patient
education. lnfwnaaon on health issues is quickly
accessible and wntten in a language vvhlch is easy
to comprehend.
EBSCMDn" is a menudnwn software de
signed for fimdme or infrequent ~tsers. but pro
wdes sophimcahon for advanced searchers. The
easy-tdolkw search screens guide you through
the searching process. 8y uung truncabon, wld
cards, or proxlmity/phrase searches, the advanced
user can narrow or broaden a search
The program searches the data- for the terms entered on the search screen and dbpbvs a
list of cltaoom that fulfill the cntena. One keystroke
bnngs up a summary of the amde, With am-
ages SO words in length and offers the user an
unblased descnpoon of the actual atticle. If Full
Text is available, one more keymoke will allow you
to vtew the complete amcle.
To help manage your penodical collecnon
more efficiently, the EBSCMD software indudes
our proprietary Collectton Control Sysm (CCS).
This allows you to tag local magazine btles and
enter up to IO lines of notes for each magazine.
CCS also uack all penodical usage and prwtdes a
precise limng of the most frequently used magb
anes. Improve your collecoon and speaakze the
holdings to fit the needs of your researcm.
Unlke moforms and most other CDROM full
textprodUc0. hi%#h&xmakeyw#dsearch
able at both the inmd search and Hnth~l these
lected am&. The user can search for any word.
compkte amdeora sekcted paaon. vhcbwlf
prevent potenbal theft defacement OT mbm
of pnnt penodicals
phraseorm I#) maperwhere nappeas in
themde. Patrons have theopm dpnntng the
h'e&Jhneis also aMlbbk on magne6c
rape through EBSCO's Database Licensing Fm
gram. Under this program a libtafy receives taw
data on tape which is then davnlwded tom
existing automation system's hard drive. any users will be able to access both book and pen
odicals at all your terminals simultaneously This
eliminates the need for separate CD-ROM works^
bON or nm.
Few producfs are as easy to network as
EBSCOs By networking Heaa Source you will
allow mulaple users to simultaneously access me
same database, and eliminate the need for a sepa-
rate disc at each workstaam
Most irnpomtly, EBSCO does not charge
for netwwldng -in am location.
EBSCO pndes iud on unmatched customer
smce and professional technical support. You wtll
atways have a hendly, knowledgeable person to
answer all of your qwons.
With a subscnpbon to Hem Sme you re
cwe the EBSCOCD User Guide. helpful quick-
reference matends. a quarterly newsletter and a
spl letter wtth each update explaining all new
features
Experience the benefrtr of EKOs Heaa
Awcein your kbary wtth a free 6Way mal.
l€4WT€~~&WS..
Hardware 640K RAM, (2MB RAM recom
mended); 5 MU hard disk space avatbbk, (386
recommended); CD-ROM player, interface card
Md Cabk, VntB /O@OMl) Software: MS-DOS 3 2 or higher. (Mx S 0 or
higher recommended]; Microsoft MS-DOS CD
ROM Extensim Version 2 I OT higher
fi& To puk a subscnpcion to Hdh Sxmq order a FREE
6Oday tnal, or request more infbrmation, contact
EBXO PuMlshing
P.O. Bax 2250
peabody. M4 0 1960 US4
800453-2726
FAX5085318545
Or your EBSCO Shipdon SeMaS ILyonal offie
soas3~soo
mw 51995
BcMonthty (6 updates] 5 995
Quanw P. @, Jul. Oni 5795
- ----. DIA 0 4 CD-ROM Dixs @ Allows search for listings using any field-
name, street address, telephone number, ti ,
111GAG PIllJIlG- books on CD-ROM
hold the hstmgs from duecrones Remember that old school buddy state ZID area code, business headinq an !
Sk-code from 80 million listin s @ Offers reverse search capo ility-search or
-, % you last heard was living near Atlantal You’re about to
find h. With Direct Phone’s straight look-up
capabhty, you’ll be able to find just about anyone
you want-anywhere in the U.S. Track
down your relauves, trace your farmly
tree, find anyone, anywhere, for any
reason. Use Direct Phone as a fundras-
mg tool to raise money from far-flung
alumni, to find new prospects or to
locate old customers. Direct Phone’s
instant look-up capability
makes it easy.
The- Wc11MM
asmodear -
Small businesses
can now compete with
any Fortune 500 company.
CD-ROM technology has
. field by delivering
the most powerful
database in the U.S. into
everyone’s hands. Select Phone’s
reverse search capabhty, unlimited
dodoadmg and &red usage
give you the access-and the
freedom-to locate and contact all
your best prospects in every
market, in every state in the U.S. SeleaPhonemvahuble fo~sna~lrmdmedium No other CD-ROM phonebook
dblmlesm. comes with h unrestricted Other phonebooks on CD-ROM resm’ct the
number of records you CM download or use a meter to charge you on a per-name barn. ProPhone’s phonebooks offer unlunited down- loa& and unlimited usage ar no extra at.
license to use its listings for your own hect mad and telemarketing
purposes-at no further cost!
~-~--L.--L-~~-~--- r. _*A --
Instant Access to 10 Million Businesses...
Including Credit Ratings
in thepnlm ofyow hand!
The American Business Disc is
the one source which librarians
turn to first to find information
on U.S. businesses and
organizations. It’s quick,
it’s user-friendly and
it’s accurate.
Every Record Includes:
Business Name & Address with ZIP Code
Telephone numbers
Nw Number of employees
Nw Estimated sales volume
Nwe Credit Raring Codes
‘iB&re Rwident Clinton2 visit to H;awaii,
tbe &esi-irnti Litck Rock ofie askedfi tbe
address andpbone number of a burincJs in
tbe Honolulu urea We woucd not bave been
ubk to jnd the infirmation without tbe
American Business Disc.
Line of business description & SIC Code
Nw Public companies
Phhp Jones
Central Arkam Library System Littlr Rock, Arkam
Also includes 415,959 Physicians, 507,415 lawyers and more than 900,000
other professional listings
Informatb Call 1 =800=808=1113 Today!
571 1 So 86th Circle P 0 Box 27347 Omaha, NE 68127
Phone: (402) 5934523 FAX. (402) 33166sl
CARLSBAD CITY LIBRARY
STATISTICS
CIRCULATION
MAIN LIBRARY Print /Audio Video Equipment
Jul . Jul .
1993 1994 % Chancre
62,506 57,677 -8 17 , 361 14,626 - 16
14 18 + 29
TOTAL: 79,881 72,321 -9
BRA" Prht/Audio 18,340 19 , 484 +6
3.170 3,231 +2 Video
TOTAL: 21,510 22,715 +6
1,442 1,059 - 27
102 , 833 96,095 -7
Centro 180 206 + 44 Genealogy 1,259 1,204 -4
Adult 6,298 6,432 +2 Online 43 25 - 42 18
TOTAL: 11,239 11,174 -1
Children's 1,313 1,541 + 17
Branch 2.146 1,766
#fEDIA/GRAPHICS PROJECTS
Media Graphics 36 30 - 17
26 23 - 12
TOTAL: 62 53 - 15
Jul .
1993
Jul .
1994 % Chancre
PEOPLE COUNT (Daily Average)
Centro Main Library Branch
81
1,918
562
111
1,756 741
+ 37
-8 u 'I
TOTAL: 2 , 561 2 , 608 +2
&TTE"CB AT PROGRAMS
170 179
38
1,248
103
1,738
111
196
25
914
267
- 35
+9 - 34 - 27 + 159
Centro Genealogy Adult Children's: Main Branch
- 13 1,513 TOTAL:
; p I
I . '5 ,l . ERLIBRARY LOAH 8
.% .-
Requests by Carlsbad
Received by Carlsbad
Requests of Carlsbad
Filled by Carlsbad :i F L.
!I .% P h:l
l$&.f
2 71;. ,' REGISTRATIOS B
Centro
Branch
Main Library -I
I# 3
117
383
91 .
139
121
271
58
-3
+3 - 29 - 36
59
a43
363
37
980
226
- 59 - 14 u
1,265 +2
+. I r -. .
TOTAL: 1,243
2
3
8 0
8
0
v) v)
d eg
v) e
E w 0 z 6
$$i a-
i! b-
8
3
ui
IC-