Funding for Libraries

Your staff really missed the boat when writing about the trials and tribulations of California libraries. In the accompanying article about the national library scene, a table showing per capita expenditures for public libraries appeared. Pasadena, with $4.04 per capita was sixth in the nation and No. 1 in California (in this probably abbreviated table). Not one mention of Pasadena appears in the article!

Why not write about what an enlightened community can do when guided by an exceptional library director, a thoughtful city manager and an intelligent board of directors (city council). Attempts have been made in the distant past to “economize” at the expense of the library system but the citizens of Pasadena have beaten them back.

The Pasadena Public Library Foundation will, this year, complete a $2.6-million fund-raising effort (no tax funds involved) which has been used to refurbish the central library and (more important) create an endowment to ensure the future maintenance of the “refurbishments.”

I would suggest that maintenance of this relatively high per capita tax support and the fund-raising effort exemplify a unique approach to library financing.

ROBERT J. BANNING

Pasadena