HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter to BOS - Library budget April 27, 2009
.'Dear Supervisors Connelly, Dolan, Kirk, Lambert, and Yamaguchi:
To help save the Butte County Library system, please eliminate the Literacy Department, which is a non-
integral part of the library. The money can then be used to keep the library branches, particularly the
smaller branches, open more hours. Contrary to popular belief, literacy departments and their directors
are NOT mandated by State law, and some counties (such as Kern, Inyo, Kings, Trinity, and Modoc,to
name a few) do NOT have literacy departments. The Butte County Library system can save several
hundred thousand dollars if that entire department is completely eliminated. (There is one Tong-time literacy
employee,a Mrs.Woodson,who has been there 15 or 20 years. With her seniority and experience,surely a place can be found for her
somewhere in the library.)
Ask yourselves: who serves more County residents-- several active and efficient branch libraries in
various communities, or one small literacy department? There is more bang for our limited County bucks
in keeping all the branches open as many hours as possible versus keeping one tiny, expensive literacy
.department open.
Please be aware that there is a private, non-profit group called the Butte Literacy Council, which is a
volunteer organization. The Butte Literacy Council does its work at NO cost to the County, as compared
to the very expensive literacy department in the County Library. The all-volunteer Butte Literacy Council
ran keep literacy going in Butte County until flush times return, and then perhaps the County can consider
having a literacy department again.
PLEASE NOTE: A recent (Sept. 2008) survey for the library by Godbe Research of San Mateo indicates
the following:
"Despite residents' high levels of satisfaction [with the county library], they did indicate a desire
for an increased selection of boobs magazines, CDs and audio books; more seating; larger
buildings; and more hours of service (hours were of particular concern in the smaller branches}."
Please note that nowhere does it indicate that County residents want literacy services. They want
primarily MORE BOOKS and MORE HOURS. By eliminating the literacy department, more money can
be allocated to those basic needs and wants of more a boo __and_more_hours. -_
Please eliminate the Library's entire literacy department in order to free up funds to provide MORE
BOOKS and MORE HOURS for the library branches. Consider that the branches serve tens of thousands
of people a month, while the very-expensive literacy department reaches just a miniscule fraction of that
number. Save the 4braa branches by efiydng6LnX the literacy de artment!
Thank you,
C. hn
ro son
cc: Greg Iturria-Interim County CAO
Linda Barnes -Butte County Treasurer
Sean Farrell - Interim Chief Financial Officer
Kathleen Moghannam-Clerk of the Board
Robert Speer- Chico News and'Review(author of article "Little Libraries")
David Little, News Editor- Chico Enterprise Record