THIN VOLUMES: With funding slashed from $27...

THIN VOLUMES: With funding slashed from $27 million to $19 million, the Orange County public library system is facing its most difficult year. . . . Officials warn that some of the 27 branch libraries in the system will certainly have to close next year unless new sources of money can be found. Under discussion are charges for reserving popular books and fees for retrieving books from other libraries. . . . Off limits, though, are library cards. It seems that state law protects patrons from being charged for that privilege.

NO BENCH: The financial crisis in county government is also to blame for the loss of about 70 part-time librarians, who, in recent years, have stepped in to cover a range of responsibilities, from the checkout counter to the reference desk. . . . George Tait, the Leisure World librarian in Seal Beach, said the “extra help” budget has virtually dried up, forcing patrons to wait longer. “People have been very nice,” Tait said. “The first question they ask when they come in the library now is how we’re doing. They all know about the cuts.”

EMPTY SHELVES: The opening of a new library is normally cause for celebration, but in Rancho Santa Margarita where a $5-million facility is under construction courtesy of developer fees, officials fear that severe money shortages could prevent the county from staffing it or even filling the shelves with books on opening day next summer. “The day of reckoning is coming,” county librarian John Adams said. “Without some sort of restoration of fees, there is not enough money to run the libraries. This is nuts.”

BRIGHT SPOT: While not immune from difficult budget times, the City of Newport Beach library system looks absolutely flush when compared to the county’s operation . . . . With $1.9 million raised by the private Newport Beach Public Library Foundation, the city is not expected to have any trouble opening its new, 54,000-square-foot central library sometime next spring. Says Tom Johnson, assistant city librarian, “Without (the foundation), I doubt we would have had the building.”