Doing more with less Doing more with less (December 02, 2005)

Group seeks to save College Terrace library by providing volunteers

by Saqib Rahim

Ask babysitter Patty Petrie if she likes her neighborhood library, and her answer is a definite yes.

Not only is the College Terrace library a favorite place to take kids for puppet shows, magic shows, jugglers and musicians, she said, but it's small enough that library staff can watch individual kids grow over the years -- and know their likes by heart.

"The staff gets to know all the kids that come in," she said.

Other residents prize the well-preserved 69-year-old building, as well as the fact that College Terrace pedestrians can get there with ease.

Behind the scenes, though, budget realities are pushing the library's resources to their limit. On Fridays, for example, the library has two staff members at the desk. If one of them calls in sick, the library cannot open for the day, because the library's protocol is to have at least two staff present.

Cutbacks and shortages like these have occurred throughout the library system and have brought the future of Palo Alto's branch libraries into question. In response, a College Terrace group has banded together to improve the library -- and hopefully preserve it.

The College Terrace Library Working Group, founded by neighborhood resident Paula Sandas, recently met with Director of Libraries Paula Simpson with the idea of increasing volunteer participation and responsibility at the College Terrace branch. Volunteers could help with the library's daily functions -- such as circulation, re-shelving and helping patrons locate books -- while the library cuts back on its biggest expense: staff.

"If we can create a model volunteer program at the College Terrace Library that worked, then that reduces staff cost at that particular branch library," Sandas said. "We have a lot of people who said, 'If it means that I need to volunteer to keep the library open, make me a volunteer!' "

Sandas, who also serves on the city's Planning and Transportation Commission, started the library group last March after Simpson proposed a plan to close three branches -- Downtown, Main and College Terrace -- and use the funding to build a central library at Mitchell Park. Simpson argued that this new library would be bigger, have a better collection, and use the city's funds more effectively.

It would have been a radical change for a system whose five libraries have stretched their budget, and whose hours, staff and collections have been scaled back as a result.

Even though the City Council rejected Simpson's proposal last December, many residents fear the writing is on the wall for their favorite branch libraries.

Simpson said the use of volunteers may be a viable option in the long run, but it shouldn't be mistaken for a solution. The real problem, she said, is that the library system's operation costs -- staff salaries and benefits, books and other media -- are inflating faster than the library budget.

Library funding has increased modestly in the past three years, from $4.7 million in 2004, to $5.2 million in 2005, to a projected $5.6 million in 2006, according to the city budget.

Meanwhile, the library has already increased the number of total volunteer hours worked annually by 63 percent since the 2002-2003 budget year. Although volunteers can help close the gap in some areas, they can't single-handedly increase library hours or collections, Simpson said.

Having volunteers doesn't come for free, either, she added -- they must be trained by paid staff.

Nevertheless, she's willing to try the College Terrace group's plan.

"We're looking at it as a pilot," Simpson said. If it works, the plan "could be expanded and applied in all the libraries."

For now, the ball's in the library director's court. Simpson is currently trying to determine what volunteers can and can't do legally -- for example, whether they can handle money or control the building in case of an emergency. Once she knows, Sandas said, the Working Group will have the green light to recruit volunteers.

In the meantime, Sandas said, the group will help fundraise for the library system. Last spring at the College Terrace neighborhood's annual Earth Day picnic, the group helped collect hundreds of books to be sold at Friends of the Palo Alto Library's monthly book sales.

The book sales have brought in a considerable amount of revenue. The Friends' Betsy Allyn said that they have helped her organization fund $60,000 for wiring, printers, wireless Internet access and media at the College Terrace library alone.

But keeping libraries such as College Terrace open is not about money, Allyn said; it's about tradition and community.

"The neighborhood libraries in Palo Alto are an institution," she said. "I think the value of neighborhood libraries and the value of children far outweighs closing them down. To me it's an unthinkable idea, really."

Editorial Intern Saqib Rahim can be reached at srahim@paweekly.com.

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