Libraries Hope Fee Hikes Will Help Balance the Books : Revenue: Supervisors due to vote on a plan that officials say may raise $1.5 million annually for the 28-branch county system.

The County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote next week on a proposal to increase a variety of library fees and fines in an effort to provide the ailing 28-branch system with badly needed money.

Library officials hope to raise as much as $1.5 million a year with the plan, which also calls for libraries to buy extra copies of bestsellers and rent them out for $1.50 a week.

County Librarian John M. Adams said Friday that finding new sources of money is a key element of the library system’s strategy for dealing with the bankruptcy.

The county is also considering whether to shut down six branch libraries, perhaps this month.

The supervisors will discuss the closures at their June 13 meeting.

Adams said it is likely that the targeted branches will continue normal operations until October while community groups try to raise the money needed to keep them open.

The fee and fine increases are part of a larger money-raising plan that includes selling special “library gold cards” and seeking donations from local businesses.

Under the proposal, the fine for overdue books, tapes and compact discs would jump from 20 cents per day to 25 cents. The library would also begin charging 25 cents to reserve a book. The service is currently offered for free.

In another bid to raise cash, library officials want to begin renting extra copies of bestsellers for $1.50 a week. The copies would be purchased in addition the normal allotment of bestsellers, which people would still be able to check out free of charge.

Adams noted that people now must wait as long as a year to check out the most popular titles.

“We want to provide more Tom Clancy and Danielle Steel [novels] to the public,” he said. “This is a way to provide it for them.”

The library system has slashed its budget for new materials by more than a third over the last few years. With such limited resources, library officials have emphasized buying business reference books and children’s materials over large quantities of bestsellers.

“We had to recognize that there are some things that only a public library provides,” Adams said.

Library officials are already moving forward with plans to sell “gold cards” for $25. Cardholders don’t receive extra library privileges but do qualify for discounts at various shops and restaurants.

Library officials estimate that the fund-raising efforts and new fees will generate $1 million to $1.5 million annually within a few years.

The library system has been in financial turmoil for several years, hit first by sharp cuts in state funding and now by the bankruptcy. This year, the system must cut its budget from $25 million to about $20 million.

The most controversial belt-tightening proposal is a plan to close six branch libraries--Seal Beach-Leisure World, La Palma, West Garden Grove, Garden Grove-Chapman, Villa Park and Silverado Canyon.

Residents and elected officials in those communities oppose the closures and are working to raise the money needed to keep the branches open during limited hours.

Originally, the six libraries were slated to close this month. But Adams said the branches could remain open so that residents will have more time to raise the needed money.

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Changing Fees

The Orange County Public Library system has proposed increasing some library fines and fees in an effort to raise revenue. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the plan next week. Some of the proposed changes:

Current Proposed Overdue book $.20 per day $.25 per day Overdue tapes/CDs/records $.20 per day $.25 per day Fee for reserving a book 0 $.25 Lost library card $1 $2 Torn book cover 0 $1.75

Source: Orange County Public Library