Will libraries be spared big cuts?

The branch library system in Calaveras County may yet be saved.

Until the Board of Supervisors puts the 2009-10 budget to a final vote, however, no library staffer or supporter is breathing a sigh of relief.
  

The budget vote has been scheduled for July 8.

The preliminary budget presented to the board for hearings early last week called for a whopping 45 percent cut to the libraries’ budget, said Library Director Maurie Hoekstra.

That included closure of the seven branches separate from the central library in San Andreas and the layoff of the branches’ seven paid staffers and a full-time employee at the main branch.

The size of the proposed cut, in comparison with a maximum of 17.5 percent expected reductions, shocked Hoekstra and library supporters.

After a heartfelt plea from Hoekstra and various supporters on the final day of the budget hearings Wednesday, supervisors showed support for taking the branch closures — and apparently the branch staff cuts — out of the final budget.

They faced a room where “all the chairs were filled and people were standing” in support of the system, Hoekstra said.

 “There’s support ... but it’s still all up in the air,” Hoekstra said Friday.

The Copperopolis branch just opened its doors in a new location this week, but may have to shut down if its closure is included in a final vote, making all the effort of moving for naught.

The nonprofit Friends of the Calaveras County Library has provided much support for the library through the years and members are concerned about what the final cuts will look like.

Elaine Maxwell, of Valley Springs, past Friends president and a 10-year library volunteer, said in addition to the main group, there are Friends organizations for each branch.

“In each community ... they have really wrapped their arms around their library,” Maxwell said. “We’re hoping (the closure) doesn’t happen.”

 In any case, the group is committed to continued support for the system. Funds to buy more books were pledged prior to the budgeting process, Maxwell said.

The group has also partially funded an extra-hire outreach coordinator who leads the popular children’s storytelling hours at the Angels Camp, San Andreas and Valley Springs libraries, Maxwell said.

The coordinator is expected to be cut from the final budget and the Friends cannot keep the position staffed on their own.

Library supporters are “holding our breath” until the July 8 vote, Maxwell said. 

“I think we have the supervisors’ attention and whole-hearted support,” she said. “They’re just stuck between a rock and a hard spot.”