The following is a letter to the editors of San Diego Union-Tribune by OBcean Steve Pond, published Sunday, September 14.
La Jolla library hours are a telling comment on City Hall
Re “La Jolla Library maintains Monday hours with a little help from its Friends” (Sept 4) [see below]: The wealthy community members of the would-be “city of La Jolla” stepped up and donated enough money to keep their community library open on Mondays.
That seems to be OK with the San Diego City Council, but what about the rest of us? If the city had some kind of fair rules and guidelines, the La Jolla donors would have to donate the funds to the city of San Diego to be placed into a city library hind where donations were collected for all nine council districts.
This seems to be a clear case of the “haves” and “have nots.”
— Steve Pond, Ocean Beach
Here’s the original SDU-T article, pubished in their La Jolla Light:
Starting Sept. 15, more than half of San Diego’s 37 library branches will lose their Monday hours. But thanks to local donors, the La Jolla/Riford Library won’t be one of them.
As 20 libraries prepare to close on Mondays because of city budget cuts, the nonprofit Friends of the La Jolla Library stepped in to provide the money necessary to keep the local branch open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friends Chairman Chris Hallman told the La Jolla Light that the group, which helps the library through fundraising and volunteering, secured the funds from philanthropists. He declined to disclose the amount received but said it was enough to cover all Monday operating costs, including staff, security and utilities.
The funding commitment will last two fiscal cycles unless the city’s budgetary constraints are relieved, Hallman added.
The City Council voted in June to cease Sunday hours at all 14 city libraries that had them, including La Jolla, beginning July 1. It also decided to keep only 16 branches open on Mondays, starting later in the year, based primarily on neighborhood income and whether the libraries had after-school homework tutoring programs. La Jolla was not on the original list of libraries keeping Monday hours.
The closures have resulted in staff shuffling throughout the library system and rescheduled activities such as author talks and photography exhibits.
The La Jolla Parks & Beaches board changed its monthly meetings at the La Jolla branch from Mondays to Tuesdays in anticipation of the library closing on Mondays. LJP&B President Bob Evans said he will evaluate the possibility of returning meetings to Mondays but that it is not yet decided.
In the meantime, the group’s September and October meetings are scheduled to take place on Tuesdays.
“We’re really looking forward to having Monday meeting availability for our entity, and I know the same goes for other nonprofits in the area,” Evans told the Light.
With La Jolla/Riford remaining open, 17 branches will continue Monday hours: Allied Gardens, downtown San Diego, Carmel Valley, Logan Heights, Oak Park, City Heights, Rolando, Linda Vista, Mira Mesa, Point Loma, Rancho Bernardo, La Jolla, San Ysidro, Skyline Hills, Valencia Park, North Park and University Heights.
Hallman described the La Jolla/Riford Library as a “community treasure” that offers resources appreciated by residents and visitors alike.
“It is important to the Friends that anyone who wants access to the library receives it,” Hallman said. “Our library serves far more than just book lovers. Children, students and seniors all depend on our branch to hear stories, do homework, socialize, learn a new skill, appreciate art and music and find a bargain on a used book, among countless other things.
“Limitations on our hours result in decreased access at a time when safe spaces like libraries are needed more than ever. It is a priority for the Friends that all the library has to offer continues with as few interruptions as possible.”
City officials trimmed library hours as part of $100 million in cuts aimed at closing a projected budget deficit of more than $300 million. The shortened library hours are expected to save $5.1 million in the ongoing fiscal year, which projects to roughly $7 million in a full fiscal year.
The City Council and Mayor Todd Gloria were able to close the rest of the deficit by creating an estimated $150 million in new revenue through parking and other fees, as well as the cancellation of $64 million in scheduled reserve contributions.
— San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer David Garrick contributed to this report. ?
As a resident of University Heights, I know our tiny library has a ‘Friends of University Heights’ that is run by volunteers and is a 501(c)3, and I would imagine most, if not all, other branches do as well. Any money donated to a specific branch stays with that branch “. . . to fulfill day-to-day operating needs by supplying funding for programs, materials, and equipment.”
La Jolla’s Friends (https://www.lajollalibrary.org/become-a-friend) are more affluent than other areas, and while it might not seem ‘fair’ to others that La Jolla gets to stay open on Mondays, since their patrons are more affluent, they can make better things happen at their branch.
My guess is the city has little to no say about how any branches donation funding is spent.
It’s not just “haves and have nots”, it’s also “can and cannot.” I just learned from friends of the OB Library that La Jolla has a special arrangement with the city that allows them to contribute to the library staffs’ salaries. Other communities, like OB, do not have this special arrangement, so even if someone stepped up to make donations, it still wouldn’t keep the library open.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. I think I always knew I would end up on Orwell-land, but not quite this soon and not quite this blatantly.
I would suggest that anyone in the city that needs to go to the library on Sunday, head for La Jolla.