VENTURA : Survey Seeks to Rally Support for Libraries

With Ventura County’s public libraries reeling from budget woes, volunteers on Saturday took the message to the people in the form of a survey.

Girl Scouts and other volunteers staffed survey tables at nearly a dozen locations around Ventura, including supermarkets, shopping centers, a gardening nursery and the farmers’ market.

Their goal: to raise public awareness and show residents how they can take a proactive approach to preserve library services.

The survey asked residents if they would support a tax assessment, seeking additional government funding to extend library hours, a replacement for Foster Library, and if they would be willing to approach politicians for more financial assistance. Residents were also given the chance to donate money on the spot. Donations will be used for extended hours at four Ventura libraries.

The idea for the survey sprang from the community-minded efforts of Pat Barrett of Ventura. Wanting somehow to participate in Saturday’s national community service “Make a Difference Day,” Barrett mulled over several volunteer options and chose to focus on the county’s beleaguered library system.

“I decided the biggest difference I could make would be helping the libraries remain open for more hours,” Barrett said.

Initially, Barrett pondered spearheading a fund-raiser campaign. That notion quickly evolved after discussing her idea with library officials.

“Fund raising is helpful,” said Trish Cavanaugh, community relations manager of the county Library Services Agency, “but it’s a Band-Aid. In the long run we need stable funding.”

So instead of a fund-raiser, Barrett and Cavanaugh decided to wage a public awareness campaign.

“We need to motivate people. Let them know there is a problem and that they can do something about it,” Barrett said, while recruiting participants for the survey at the Barnes & Noble bookstore on Main Street.

Survey results will be completed in about two weeks, Cavanaugh said. The results will then be handed over to local government officials.

“If our libraries are to survive,” Cavanaugh said, “people will have to support it themselves. This survey will give the people a voice.”