LAKEPORT >> Much like the Sheriff’s Office, Public Works, Parks, and other county departments, the libraries have had “to do more with less,” Lake County Library Director Christopher Veach said. Yet at a public meeting last week, many residents expressed a belief that libraries should be a top priority of the County.
In the fourth of five community visioning forums, held in Lakeport, residents from mostly Lakeport gathered at the Soper Reese Theatre to hear updates from different department heads and ask any questions they had about county services. Representatives from the Sheriff’s Office, Animal Control, Public Works, and District 4 Supervisor Tina Scott were among those present in a panel.
Like in previous forums, County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson started the meeting by presenting information on the county’s overall economic standing. Colored charts depicted where property, sales and gas taxes went to, with law enforcement receiving majority at 51 percent. Roads receive 17 percent, and parks and recreation, museums, and libraries receive nine percent. Other non-core services such as human resources and information technology acquired the remaining 23 percent.
She said, “Lake County is facing some very difficult budgetary decisions ahead,” but added that despite a “diminishing” economy, the county reported a “zero debt.”
While most attendees applauded at the report, some audience members expressed their concern over the underfunding of one particular department over the others: the library system.
Lupita Martinez, of Lakeport, was the first to express her thoughts on the matter, saying “I think we need our libraries more than ever. The library has had to supplant school libraries as they feel the crunch. We need to be there for our youth and those who benefit from it.”
Veach said, “The libraries have had to do more with less just like other departments in the county. But if this trend continues we will have a hard time providing the services Lake County deserves.”
Already, have had to reduce the number of employees countywide. He said there is a total of six full-time staff and four part-time faculties that run the four library branches and its literacy program. What has helped the branches stay afloat is their team of about 16 volunteers, which work 69 hours per week. “That’s almost a whole full-time person and a half-time person. We love our volunteers, but they can only do so much,” the director added.
He explained that if further reductions of staff occur, the results could affect operation hours, reduce the quality of assistance, and make shelves more shallow.
Already, the Upper Lake and Middletown libraries have cut their hours, from once opening at 10 a.m. to now starting at noon. Veach said the most significant hit is in the libraries’ book collections, saying they can only purchase one format of a best seller when before they would order books, DVDs, and audio formats.
“We aren’t able to purchase things to provide the resources needed, not enough to meet the demand,” said Veach. People have had to wait up to five months for the latest best-sellers or GED prep books. Additionally, library databases like the 2013 Auto Repairs database are no longer available. Veach said he fears the libraries will lose credibility if shelves and resources continue to be thin.
“Ultimately, we won’t fulfill our mission to improve literacy,” he added.
On Wednesday, Veach said he would be the only person available at the Lakeport branch for some time during the day after another staff member had to stay home as a result of the flu. With situations like these, he said it is often difficult to help people for longer than a few minutes, particularly on job applications as many come in with basic computer skills. Last year, the library reported a total of 25,000 sessions on its public computers without counting WiFi users, making assistance per-person a tight task.
“I’d like to put a happy face on it, but there’s so much more we can do,” said Veach.
The county’s library system has received much support from nonprofits including Friends of Middletown Library and Lake Friends of Lake County Library. Nonetheless, he said, “we are struggling.”
Veach said the public could help by donating supplies and books. To find out ways to help the libraries, visit library.lakecountyca.gov/
