Arlington Public Library Service Reductions and the FY 2010 Budget

Dear friends,

As we adjust to the new economic realities that have prompted budget reductions across County government, Arlington Public Library remains committed to providing the best services and collections possible for our customers.

Despite belt tightening and lifestyle changes, those of us fortunate enough to serve the residents of the County will continue the effort to preserve the things that make Arlington a special place to live and work. This is reflected in the budget choices we have made and in the services we continue to provide. 

In brief, Arlington Public Library's budget recommendations for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 are: 

• Glencarlyn, Cherrydale and Aurora Hills branches open 3 days per week

• Decreasing the materials budget by $125,000, meaning fewer purchases of books, magazines, newspapers, electronic databases, DVDs and music

• Significantly decreased use of non-permanent staff at all levels

• Increased vacancies within the permanent staff due to frozen positions

• Closing the current Westover branch facility effective July 1, to prepare for the opening of the new Westover facility in fall 2009

• Suggested increases in library fines and fees for printing, lost library cards, overdue materials and interlibrary loan mailings

None of these decisions were easy and at this stage, the FY 2010 budget is a proposal.

There are many opportunities to make your opinion known. In addition to the public hearings to be held by the Arlington County Board in late March, the Library is scheduling open "town meetings" at Central Library and each of our branches except Plaza.  All meetings will start at 7 p.m. except Aurora Hills, when I will speak at 7:45. Here is the schedule. PLEASE NOTE NEW TIME: I will speak at the Aurora Hills meeting (hosted by the AH Civic Association) at 8:30 p.m.:

• March 4, Cherrydale
• March 10, Glencarlyn
• March 11, Aurora Hills (new time--8:30 p.m in senior center adjacent to library)
• March 17, Westover
• March 18, Central (Auditorium)
• March 31, Shirlington
• April 1, Columbia Pike

As someone who grew up in Arlington and benefited from its first-rate Library, I want to "do it all" for this system.  And yet we can't given the current budget predicament. 

So the staff and I chose to recommend doing the next best thing, which is to fund our programs and services in the most cost-effective way possible so we can continue to fill shelves with relevant materials, entertain children with storytimes and help neighbors get back on their feet with free computers, Internet access and job-seeking resources.

Our proposed hours of service across the system may change---to enable us to staff where service demands are greatest---but our commitment to the community is unchanged.

Please take advantage of the "comments" link below to send me your questions and suggestions. I will respond under your remarks to keep the dialogue going. And I look forward to meeting you and speaking with you in person at one of the seven open "town meetings" mentioned above.

Over to you...

 

 

• Please read the proposed Department of Libraries budget for FY 2010.

• A news release was issued Feb. 21 on the County Manager's proposed FY 2010 budget for Arlington County, Virginia.

• More information on the Arlington County, Virginia proposed FY 2010 budget is available here.

 

Comments

[Diane Kresh, Director, Arlington Public Library]

A question and an answer posted on a previous blog item:

Question: "Where does the statement "These are the three libraries with the lowest circulation rates – Aurora Hills (4.9%), Cherrydale (4.4%) and Glencarlyn (2.3%)" comes from? More importantly, what are the numbers for the other branches and Central?" -- Ralph Silberman

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Answer: The circulation numbers cited are from Fiscal Year 2008 statistics, the most recent complete set of numbers we have. Here is the entire breakdown:

Central= 41.6 percent
Shirlington= 8.4 percent
Westover= 7.5 percent
Columbia Pike= 6.9 percent
Aurora Hills= 4.9 percent
Cherrydale= 4.4 percent
Glencarlyn= 2.3 percent

Plaza Branch Library operates on a unique schedule without evening and weekend hours so its circulation numbers were below one percent for FY 2008, the first year of its operation.

Because patrons can renew materials online, the Library website circulation was 23.1 percent, higher than any physical location except Central.

[Cindy Salavantis]

Does the circulation rate mean the percentage of that library's collection that is in circulation at any given time? If so, I wonder if it under-represents a small library's usage. For example, the Cherrydale collection is small so we frequently put copies of books from another library on hold, and have them sent to Cherrydale for us to check out.

[Diane Kresh, Director, Arlington Public Library]

The percentage of circulations for a branch is the total number of circulations transacted at that branch divided by the total number of system circulations for FY 2008.

Books sent to Cherrydale to fill holds (regardless of the owning branch) are counted as Cherrydale transactions if checked out to the borrower at Cherrydale.

[Nicholas Giacobbe]

It's very interesting that the Shirlington figures are so high since in the 1998 exercise it was nearly closed. I find that to be a very good indicator of how much the Aurora Hills branch has been allowed to deteriorate. If we made some improvements to the Aurora Hills facility and programs, I suspect that the rates would also increase.

Seems that cutting hours to three days a week is but an interim step to eventual elimination of the three branches. If the County confuses neighbors with very limited hours, they'll stop coming because they'll never know when the library is open.

Reducing the library to three days is also counter to what all the news reports and anecdotal evidence indicate. People are turning to libraries even more as the economy gets worse.

Finally, the savings are but a blip in relation to the whole county budget.

[Cindy Salavantis]

Thanks, that makes sense. Another question: we're big users of Cherrydale, and it seems that afternoons, evenings and Saturdays are quite busy. On the other hand, mornings are quiet. Would it help from a cost savings standpoint to keep the branch open on weekdays but with more limited hours? For example, 1-6pm with a couple of evenings as well as Saturday?

[Cindy]

There are no adult materials to circulate in the branch libraries unless one likes romance and mystery novels! And PG rated DVDs for kids.

Arlington County will fund live theater at the same or greater level as FY 2009 and is planning to dedicate at least $10 million for a new cultural center in the old Newseum in Rosslyn.

[Polly Liss]

Would the use of volunteers help in keeping libraries open more days and/or more hours? I think a lot of people will respond to an appeal for volunteers for specific tasks.

[Sharon Beth Kristal]

What other use is considered besides the "circulation rate"? For example, the computers at Aurora Hills are often all in use, often by people who don't check out additional materials.

Also, if, as you say, the Library website circulation is higher than any physical location except Central, does that mean that all libraries are at risk of undergoing reductions in service? By this reasoning, I should no longer renew online, but rather bring my books back to the library and physically recheck them out each time.

How are telephone renewals counted?

[Sharon Beth Kristal]

A question about the library's "Open town meetings": What other government officials, besides yourself, do you expect will be in attendance?

[lentigogirl]

Is there any discussion of staffing 5 days during peak hours rather than reduced days? Or would that negate the savings because library staff wouldn't be able to job-share?

[M.K. Floom, Aurora Hills user]

• Glencarlyn, Cherrydale and Aurora Hills branches open 3 days per week

Instead of only opening 3days a week at three locations, why not reduce the hours the library is open each day, BUT continue to serve the citizens 6 days a week. Alternate staffing between these six library locations Shirlington, Westover, Columbia Pike,
Aurora Hills, Cherrydale, and Glencarlyn. Have each of these locations open the same amount of time so that no one location is being discriminated against as far as availability to citizens. The only location that should retain the hours and staffing would be the Central Library. Be fair to all Arlington citizens.

[Christine Osowski]

How will the days of the week each branch will be closed be determined? I assume that most branches experience their highest usage days on the weekend, how will it be decided which neighborhood must sacrifice their weekend library service?

[Diane Kresh, Director, Arlington Public Library]

Greetings and thanks for all the suggestions and questions. I wanted to post reponses after each individual message but our blog system publishes chronologically so I've put all my responses together here. Just look for your name in my answers.

Keeps those cards, letters and e-messages coming. And enjoy the beautiful snow outside.

I still plan to be at the Glencarlyn neighborhood meeting tonight, Monday, at Carlin Hall unless the weather forces a postponement.

Diane Kresh
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Hello Mr. Giacobbe--
Arlington Public Library keeps statistics on the use of its system for each year. The decision to reduce hours was a difficult one and, ultimately, a business decision, based on where reducing hours would have the least impact on the community. That does not mean there is no impact. We are pleased that Arlingtonians love their library system. We do too, especially because many staffers live in the county. And we tried hard to preserve the best of what we do at our busiest locations within budgetary constraints. No recommendation was arrived at easily and we look forward to hearing from all of you at our public meetings to discuss our proposed reductions.

Hello Ms. Salavantis--
We are considering all suggestions for a systemwide schedule. Everything is on the table for discussion as we remain committed to providing the best level of service we can given the circumstances. The goal is to close 24 hours a week at Glencarlyn, Cherrydale and Aurora Hills. Which hours/number of hours/days we are open is subject to discussion and we welcome feedback as we look at options to meet the greatest demands on the system within our budget constraints.

Hello Cindy--
The Library makes the best use it can of the money it has for collections. Funding was already cut this year, FY 2009, because of state reductions and the budget will be reduced further in 2010. We continue to look at the collection needs of the system as a whole to determine spending priorities. We welcome feedback from the public. It is your collection, after all, and we will certainly look into your concern about the collections at the branches. Since we are a small community and make deliveries every day but Sunday throughout the system, we try very hard to provide our residents with what they need. Our goal is to keep our system-wide collection both broad and deep with a mix of popular materials at each location. Thank you for raising this concern. Again, we will look into it.

Hello Polly Liss--
Volunteers are always welcome. The challenge is to find the right balance between the use of permanent, professional staff (many with masters degrees in library science) and volunteers. The Library has always used volunteers and will continue to do so. We greatly appreciate each and every one. They are wonderful.

Hello Sharon Beth Kristal--
The Arlington Public Library counts everything--the number of items that circulate, the number of visitors, the number of computer users, the number of attendees at storytimes and adult programs, the number of reservations of meeting rooms, etc. At this time, we are planning to reduce hours at only three of our branches--the three branches where together the level of activity is not as high as it is at the remaining branches (with the exception of Plaza Library which services a very specific community with unique hours of operation) and Central. We are not stopping anything we do. We are reducing hours so that we can repurpose staff to fill existing vacancies and open a brand new, larger facility in Westover later this year without being able to hire additional staff. The goal is to better serve you during a new systemwide schedule. We encourage residents to use the Library website as often as possible to renew items and place holds, check the catalog and do research through our many great online resources and collections.

Hello again Sharon Beth Kristal--
I do not yet know if other governemnt officials will join me at our open "town meetings." Of course they are welcome to do so and our schedule is posted above. I will be joined by many of my library management team, staff who, in some cases, have been with the system for close to 20 years and can offer useful perspectives. We hope to see you there.

Hello Lentigogirl--
We are considering a range of schedules within the budgetary framework that we have. We will evaluate all possible schedules to determine the ones that make the most effective use of our limited staff resources given the needs of the community. The public meetings and this blog will continue to give us important feedback.

Hello m--
Historically, the level of activity is not as high as it is at other branches and at Central so we made the recommendation to support, with staff resources, those facilities where patron use is greatest. We can appreciate that some residents will be inconvenienced. It is also possible to accomplish a number of library-related tasks on our website, a resource that we are continually expanding and which is available 24/7. We know the Web does not replace the community building that happens in each facility, nor is it a replacement for storytimes, adult programming, book talks, and quiet place to study and meet friends. With limited staff and money to run each facility, reducing hours at some sites enables us to retain the best of what we do. And we hope to create a schedule that is not so complicated that no one can remember when we're open. Such varied hours of operation would be a disservice to the whole community.

Hello Christine Osowski--
The Library will host a series of open "town meetings" to discuss with the community the best times to be open and closed. Our initial thinking is that we want to be open at every location on Saturdays, plus one 8-hour period during daytime (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.) and one day of mostly evening hours (1-9 p.m.). Our staffing levels and the needs of each community will be important factors as we devise this schedule.

[Ralph Silberman]

Thank you for providing all the usage numbers.

Ignoring Central library, I understand the lost hours in relationship to usage as:

Shirlington= 8.4% O hours
Westover= 7.5% 0 hours (except for moving closure)
Columbia Pike= 6.9% O hours
Aurora Hills= 4.9% 24 hours
Cherrydale= 4.4% 24 hours
Glencarlyn= 2.3% 24 hours

If going after the branch library hours is really necessary, then a fairer distribution would be proportional to usage. If Westover is discounted for this year (not sure that it should be without knowing how many total hours it is closed for), and assuming that the most lost hours should be 24, then a fairer number of closing hours is:

Shirlington= 8.5 hours
Columbia Pike= 9.5 hours
Aurora Hills= 13.5 hours
Cherrydale= 16.5 hours
Glencarlyn= 2.3% 24 hours

I also agree that the hours should not, if at all possible, come from being closed entire days.

[Diane Kresh, Director, Arlington Public Library]

Hello again Mr. Silberman,

Yours is an interesting approach. Thanks for sharing this. We appreciate all suggestions and will take them into consideration.

[Nicholas Giacobbe]

There have been a lot of news reports about how library usage has increased as a result of the recession, yet Arlington County is proposing reducing service levels.

CNN posted a story on "Hard economic times a boon for libraries" over the weekend, available at:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/28/recession.libraries/index.html?iref=newssearch

I'm wondering if Arlington County has not been impacted by what seems to be a national trend. Thanks!

[Bill Gillen]

"So the staff and I chose to...fund our programs and services in the most cost-effective way possible..."

Using the library's own data for FY 2008, the unit costs per visitor clearly show that Aurora Hills serves the highest number of visitors for each dollar spent. (See the numbers below.)

Library Cost/Visitor
Aurora Hills $2.60
Glencarlyn $2.73
Westover $2.82
Columbia Pike $2.85
Shirlington $3.18
Central $3.52
Cherrydale $3.54
Plaza $6.26

Could you please, Ms. Kresh, explain how it would be "cost-effective" to reduce hours at the most cost-effective branch?

Also, could you explain why the Plaza library (with unit costs the highest) is not included in the list of affected libraries?

[Diane Kresh, Director, Arlington Public Library]

Hello again Mr. Giacobbe,

Arlington Public Library has indeed seen a rise in business going back several months.
http://www.sungazette.net/articles/2008/09/26/arlington/news/nw920a.txt

The difficult part is that just when we're needed more, we have less tax dollars available for the budget. That's the conundrum all local governments are going through right now. We have an unyielding "business model."

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Hi Bill,

We are reducing service at the branches where the level of activity overall is lower than that of other branches. These are data born out each year. We are not restructuring the Library system at this time--we are belt-tightening, which is why we chose to reduce hours, trim our materials budget, freeze vacant positions and hold spending in operations costs to system-wide savings. Each branch and Central are part of a whole known as Arlington Public Library and we look at this process from that vantage point.

The Plaza Library and Arlington Store is a unique, new component to both the Library system and Arlington County Government operations. It provides government reference service for County staff, manages the County store and serves as "information and referral"---a switchboard, if you will---for all County offices and services. It is not open at night and on weekends because it has a specific mission not shared by the rest of the libraries in the system, including Central.

Diane

[Janet]

True. There is nothing in Shirlington except Internet access, crime novels, romance novels, kids' books and family DVDs. Reference collections, technical books, are mostly out of date. This has been going on a long time in all Arlington branch libraries.. I have high speed Internet at home. I don't have to listen to others' cell phone conversations while I'm on-line. I don't have to listen to kids yelling in a huge room that appears to have been designed to have been a parking garage, not a library. Library branches are becoming like printed newspapers, either you are relevant to the community in the 21st Century or you go out of business.

[Aarti Shah]

Dear Ms. Kresh--
I am a big user of Aurora Hills and believe the proposed hours reduction will effectively gut the library. It is vitally important that the library be open the majority of days--if patrons feel that the library is closed more often than it is open, they will stop thinking of it, or will learn not to rely on it. You will not be merely shifting usage to the open days, you'll lose a great number of patrons permanently. the decline in usage will be far greater than the decline in hours.

Both Mr. Gillen and Mr. Silberman make excellent points--it would make more sense to spread the hour reductions out more, and it seems that greater savings could be gained from reductions at the other libraries, like central.

Also, I was wondering-- to what extent have you considered the geographic distribution of the libraries to be hit? Have you considered the fact that some of the libraries hit are the only ones in their area, and that, if you must reduce library hours, it might make sense to do so at libraries that are closer to other libraries? For example, Aurora Hills is really the only branch that is convenient for those of us that live in crystal city and pentagon city. I fear that if you reduce the hours of this branch, the patrons will not shift to another branch but will rather abandon the library altogether. On the other hand, people who can't go to the courthouse area can easily go to central.

however, increases in fees and fines makes perfect sense. and if the photocopying machines are not generating income, I believe that many of them could be eliminated. After all, these days it's very easy to make copies at kinko's, office depot etc, so the only reason for the machines would be for those few who need to photocopy library materials that can't be removed from the library.

[Crawford Honeycutt]

My comments jump around a bit because they started more or less in order of the earlier comments, but then became more scrambled.

I am a regular use of the Aurora Hills branch.

The only things unique about the Plaza branch are its exceptional cost and "unique customers", i.e., county employees. The cost of this branch should not be part of the library system at all. Its use by non-government employees is probably near zero.

The proposed 2010 library budget is still higher than it was in 2005 and about the same as in 2006. In that context, it is difficult to rationalize a 50 percent slashing of hours as "business" related. Contrary to protestations otherwise, it could only make "business" sense as a step in permanent closure of the affected branches.

Since the bulk of Arlington's budget increases over the past several years has been due to non-library spending increases, the library system should be spared cutbacks. However, if cutbacks are necessary, a "business" decision is not appropriate for a social service. An equitable solution would be to cutback hours (not days!) at all locations.

Increasing fines would be appropriate but I would not recommend charging more for a library card. Also, instituting a fee, say $1, to reserve new items (but not to reserve old items) makes sense to me. This fee would help cover the cost of the additional service these holds entail and may help in the purchase of new items. Yes, I am a heavy user of this currently free service. And, yes, I visit the Aurora Hills branch 3 or 4 times per week.

Crawford

[Maureen Quinn]

There seems to be some confusion about the date that the director will be at Aurora Hills Library. Would you please confirm the date and time. Thank you.
Maureen Quinn

[Frances "Dixie" Kennett]

Dear Ms. Kresh -

As a user of Glencarlin Branch, I can only hope that you rethink the allocation of hours. I certainly understand the need for belt-tightening. May I suggest the following:

Monday - 2 - 8 pm (currently 10-9 -- savings of 6 hours)
Tuesday - 12 - 6 p.m. (currently 1-9 -- savings of 2 hours)
Wednesday - 2-8 pm (currently 1-9 -- savings of 2 hours)
Thursday - 2-6 pm (currently 10-6) -- savings of 4 hours)
Friday - close (savings of 8 hours)
Saturday - 10-4 (savings of 2 hours)

That results in a savings of 24 hours and still provides 5 days of access.

If you absolutely MUST close 3 days, I suggest days be Monday, Thursday and Saturday. That spaces things out.

Dixie Kennett (31 year Glencarlin branch user)

[John]

Hi Diane,

Two question about Westover:

What's the latest estimate for the opening date of the new Westover branch?

Of the time period between July 1 and the opening date of the new branch, how much of it is actually necessary for the physical transition, and how much of it is a cost-saving measure?

Thanks.

[Diane Kresh, Director, Arlington Public Library]

Hello everyone,

Again, blog comments are posted chronologically so when I can't reply almost immediately, I am unable to post my answers directly beneath your individual messages. Just look for your name to find my answer to your question.
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Dear Janet:
Thank you for your comment. Since Shirlington branch reopened in its new facility in 2007, circulation has been so high and the level of activity so great that it has become one of our most popular branches. We are sorry that you have been unable to find materials of interest at Shirlington. Please know that we deliver materials to specific branches from throughout the system so if there is something you want from another branch or from Central, it can be delivered to Shirlington for you to check out.

All the best,
Diane

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Dear Aarti Shah:

Thank you for your comments and questions about the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2010. What we have recommended is a belt-tightening, not an elimination of library service. The County Manager's Recommended Budget, of which the Library is a part, seeks to preserve the balance of services across many different policy areas and interests that have made Arlington a highly desirable and highly successful community.

The Library has already sustained staffing shortages with positions left open in the current hiring freeze. These shortages, coupled with the service reductions each department was required to make to stay within the County's overall reduced budget, necessitated reducing hours. We can, however, still provide effective library service---the kind of service Arlingtonians have come to expect from their library staff.

In making our recommendations, we looked at all of the usage data that we collect each year. Our decision to reduce hours at three branches was based on this data. In making this recommendation, we realize that some in the community may be inconvenienced. However, we believe this proposal makes the best use of the Library's straightened resources, allowing us to enhance activity at the locations where the demands are greatest.

Thanks too for your comments about raising fees, which may realize a small amount of revenue for the County. The Library has not raised its fees since 1998 and we have now brought them to a level consistent with that of other jurisdictions.

We appreciate your support of Arlington Public Library and look forward to continuing to serve you.

All the best,
Diane Kresh

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Hello Maureen,

I will be speaking at an Aurora Highlands Civic Association meeting on MARCH 11 at the senior center adjacent to the Aurora Hills Branch Library. That meeting begins at 7 p.m. but because I have another engagement that evening, the civic association has been nice enough to let me speak beginning around 8:30 p.m. As a convenience to the community, we thought we'd use the civic association meeting for me to speak to save the trouble of having a separate event that would be attended by many of the same residents.

I look forward to meeting you.
Diane

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Dear Ms. Kennett:
Thank you for your email and for your very thoughtful suggestions. We appreciate your taking the time to help us with alternatives and will take your suggestions into consideration.

Thank you for your support of Arlington Public Library. To be a 31-year Glencarlyn branch user is quite a record to be proud of. Good for you!!!

Diane Kresh.
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Hi John:
Thanks for your email. The most current information we have is that the Westover-Reed building will open in October. Closing the building allows us to ensure a smooth transition to the new facility. By closing in July, we also realize a one-time budget savings of $32,000 that would have been designated for temporary staff.

All the best,
Diane