OXNARD : Library Supporters Oppose Cutbacks
Library supporters have embarked on a campaign to reverse an Oxnard City Council decision to cut operations at the city’s libraries from five days to four.
To help make up for an anticipated $4-million budget shortfall, council members last week tentatively agreed to reduce operations at the main library and the branch library at the South Oxnard Center. In addition, the city would shut the doors at the mini-library in the city’s La Colonia barrio and slash book budgets for the entire system.
Those cuts total about $208,000.
Angered by the cost-cutting measures, more than a dozen patrons Tuesday urged council members to spare the library system from further reductions. In the last two years, supporters said, library hours have been scaled back 32% citywide.
Felicity Harper, president of the Oxnard Friends of the Library, said that even if some cuts are necessary, every effort should be made to keep the main library open.
The City Council is expected to review a preliminary budget and consider further cuts next month.
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