WEST VALLEY : Library Staffs Wear Black to Mourn Cuts

Sy Rimer was dressed for a funeral Tuesday, but he hoped it would not be his.

He and fellow workers at two of the four county library branches in the Valley donned black clothes and armbands for a day of mourning across the library system.

“We want to mark that this may be a funeral for libraries if the county doesn’t save us,” said Rimer, community library manager for the Las Virgenes Public Library. Workers at the San Fernando branch also marked the day by draping themselves and their library in black.

The proposed $23.5-million cut to county library funding would force some of the county’s 87 libraries to close as early as mid-August, officials said. Libraries in Calabasas and Westlake Village are on the closure list.

The Las Virgenes branch in Agoura Hills expects to lose three of its five librarians, forcing the library to cut back from seven to four days per week. The San Fernando branch could lose two of its three librarians and open its doors only three days a week.

Both branches expect to lose their children’s librarian. Reference assistance would be shut down at the San Fernando branch and slashed at the Las Virgenes branch.

Although no one knows who might be laid off, some wondered aloud if the black armbands they were wearing were for their own jobs.

“It’s tough,” said Azar Hazrati, the San Fernando children’s librarian who has been there for nearly seven years. “I’ve worked very hard. I just don’t know what to say.”

Ironically, the “funeral” for the county’s libraries may be coinciding with a rush among citizens who wish to pay their last respects.

“Monday was the busiest day we ever had in this library,” said Rimer. “We had 1,600 items circulated. I guess people are thinking, ‘Let’s get it while we can.’ ”