LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Cash-Strapped Libraries to Consider Marketing Ploys
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The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors gave the go-ahead Tuesday for the county’s beleaguered library system to explore ways to market its operations as a way of raising funds and staving off further service cutbacks.
Other county departments have adopted marketing programs, but the idea has gathered steam as the county has faced its worst fiscal crisis ever.
Library services lost nearly $30 million in the current budget, forcing severe reductions in operating hours and hundreds of layoffs. The county received a further blow when Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed legislation to create an ongoing funding source for libraries.
Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who introduced Tuesday’s motion, suggested that a marketing plan would be able to secure grants from foundations or help libraries initiate programs in which individuals, through donations, could adopt sections of tables or chairs.
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