Seven County Library Branches Are on Budget Hit List : Economy: Low circulation, proximity to other facilities are factors in recommendation that the branches be closed to help alleviate $500,000 budget shortfall.

Faced with a $500,000 budget shortfall, the San Diego County Library system has recommended closing seven branches, ranging from Cardiff to Jacumba.

The proposed cuts would eliminate branches with low circulation, replace rural libraries with bookmobile service and consolidate libraries that are close together.

In a letter to branch managers in Cardiff, Crest, Fletcher Hills, Jacumba, Lincoln Acres, Pine Valley and Potrero, county Librarian Catherine Lucas said the administration staff recently completed a report on the library’s fiscal woes.

The report, scheduled to be presented to the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 26, details what led to the “hard decisions” on the seven branches.

The report also recommends that supervisors schedule meetings in each community to hear public concerns before any decision on the closures is made.

“The last thing anybody would want to do in a free country is close libraries,” said Nancy Saint John, a spokeswoman for the county library. “This is obviously a last-resort recommendation.”

Word of the potential closures raised immediate opposition.

“You can’t just keep cutting services,” said Encinitas Mayor Gail Hano, whose community includes Cardiff.

“It’s kind of a ridiculous situation we are facing,” she said. “Here we are trying to fight illiteracy . . . the state goes and cuts services at the schools. Now here’s the county going after the libraries.”

Under the county’s recommendations, libraries in three categories are targeted for closure:

* Libraries in communities that have more than one county library.

* Libraries that circulate fewer than 10 items an hour.

* Libraries open less than 20 hours a week that are no more than 15 miles from another branch.

The Cardiff branch falls under the first category. Patrons now using the Cardiff facility would use the Encinitas branch, about 2 miles away. In El Cajon, the Fletcher Hills branch would close, and patrons would be directed to the other branch in the city.

The Crest and Lincoln Acres branches fall under the category of circulating, on average, fewer than 10 items an hour.

The Lincoln Acres branch also is within 5 miles of libraries in Bonita, Chula Vista and National City, Saint John said. In deciding which branches might close, the distance from alternative libraries was considered, she said.

That did nothing, however, to still opponents.

“Closing will have a big effect on the children who use the library,” Lincoln Acres branch manager Perla Manzano said. “This is a not-so-affluent

community, there isn’t a lot for children here. . . . Most of my patrons are children, and they have to walk to come to the library. It will be hard for them to go to National City or Chula Vista.”

The third recommendation, to consolidate rural libraries, would affect branches in Jacumba, Potrero, Pine Valley and Crest.

Debra Miller, assistant county librarian, said some people in the rural areas may feel government is not providing them with the same kind of library service as offered in more populated communities.

She also said there have been concerns about what will happen to library staffers who have become members of close-knit communities.

The county system, with a budget of $9.5 million, has 32 branches and two bookmobiles. It is facing a $500,000 revenue shortfall.

For immediate help in balancing the budget, the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 5 approved an increase in book fines.

The fine on overdue books was raised from 10 cents to 20 cents a day. Fines on children’s books were doubled from 5 cents to a dime each day. Fines will be charged up to 50 days. Supervisors also approved a $10 fee to be added to the replacement cost of lost materials.

The new penalties will be applied to materials borrowed as of Friday.

Librarian Lucas estimated a $67,000 increase in revenue from the new fines. During the 1990-91 fiscal year, the library collected $185,000 in fines.

Encinitas’ Mayor Hano suggested freezing the salaries of county librarians and using the extra revenue to keep the branches open.

“What about their raises?” she said. “There was enough in the budget to give (library employees) raises.”

This year, 63%, or $6.1 million, of the county library budget went to employee salaries and benefits. Employees received pay raises averaging 5% and benefit increases of about 3%, said Gary Kivett, the county library’s administrative services manager. The increases were to keep up with cost-of-living expenditures and were based on a 2-year-old contract negotiated by county unions, Kivett said.