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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
SANTA CLARA COUNTY LIBRARY TO CLOSE ALL
LIBRARIES ON MONDAYS, BEGINNING OCTOBER 11
Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Milpitas,
Morgan Hill and Saratoga affected, plus 2 branches and Bookmobile
September 7, 2004 – Many libraries throughout Silicon Valley will be closed
on Mondays, beginning October 11, due to a $1.1 million budget
shortfall this fiscal
year for the Santa Clara County Library system.
The libraries affected
are located in Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Milpitas,
Morgan Hill, and Saratoga. Also cut back will
be two branches operated by the Santa Clara County Library –
Alum Rock and Woodland – and the popular Bookmobile that serves
outlying
neighborhoods, child care centers, senior centers and migrant
labor camps. All but three of these libraries are already closed
on Sundays.
The action was the
result of a unanimous vote by the Santa Clara County Library Joint
Powers Authority which also took into account
the possible loss of $5.3 million in June 2005 when the Benefit
Assessment tax expires. This is a significant revenue source
for the Santa Clara County Library system, and the JPA will
discuss at future meetings what additional cutbacks may be needed.
Still
under consideration by the JPA is whether to ask voters in
2005 if this source of funding for the libraries should be continued.
A measure on the March 2004 Election Ballot that would have
extended
the assessment fell just short of the required two-thirds vote
for approval.
“The decision to close
on Mondays was very difficult for the JPA board, but with the $1.1
Million revenue shortfall, we
had no other
choice,” said Richard Lowenthal. “What is really daunting
is that if the voters don’t pass the library ballot measure next
year,
we’ll be short another $5.3 Million and the effect on the
libraries
could be truly disastrous.”
The cutback in hours
comes at the same time as an increase in use of the Santa Clara
County Library. More than three
million visitors
now come annually to the libraries in the Santa Clara County
Library system and they are checking out 10 million items
a year.
“In today’s economy,
public libraries are a bargain,” said Melinda Cervantes, Santa
Clara County Librarian. “When
a single hardbound
book costs $26.95, magazine
subscriptions average $15 a year, and monthly Internet Services cost
$30, it’s easy to see why so many people use the public
library
in their community.”
Libraries have been
a high priority for most local communities in the past few years.
The initial vote in 1994 for an
assessment of $33 per single-family
home
to support the Santa Clara County Library received overwhelming support,
but this funding is scheduled to end in 2005. Several of the communities
served
by the Santa Clara County Library have invested in new and expanded
library buildings
including Los Altos and Saratoga, which opened their new facilities
in 1996 and 2003 respectively, and new libraries are
under
construction for Cupertino
and
Alum Rock. The City of Milpitas has just started on the design of
its new library and Gilroy and Morgan Hill have applied for
library construction
grants from
the State. In most of these communities, the library building is
owned by the city but library contents and operation are provided
by the Santa Clara
County
Library.
The Santa Clara County
Library has been recognized three years in a row by the national
Hennen’s American Public Libraries Rating for
providing
high
quality, cost effective services. The Library system has a diverse
collection
of materials
in more than 25 languages and in many formats such as CDs, DVDs,
videos, audiobooks, and electronic full-text databases. The Santa
Clara County
Library web page,
www.santaclaracountylib.org, offers access to the library catalog,
electronic research databases and other information about library
services, programs
and hours.
The mission of the
Santa Clara County Library is to provide comprehensive library
services to residents of unincorporated areas of the County
and residents of
nine cities – Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos
Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, and Saratoga. Any member
of
the public, regardless
of their home address, can obtain a Santa Clara County Library
card and use its collections and services.
Contact:
Sarah
Flowers, Deputy County Librarian
Melinda Cervantes, County Librarian
Telephone:
(408)
293-2326 x3002
Or (408) 439-4124
Email:
sarah.flowers@lib.sccgov.org
melinda.cervantes@lib.sccgov.org
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