SANTA ANA : $45 Non-Resident Library Fee Imposed

The city whose motto is “Education First” is trying to live up to its name even as it begins charging non-residents $45 a year for library cards.

On Saturday, Santa Ana became the second city in Orange County to institute such fees. Huntington Beach was first.

About 35,000 non-residents hold library cards. Students and teachers in Santa Ana who live outside the city may continue to use the library for free, said Rob Richard, the library director.

Library card fees are expected to raise about $50,000 in annual revenue, Richard said, but “the issue is not so much raising revenue as reducing costs.”

Richard said the library district’s budget was cut this year from $4.19 million to $3.94 million.

The card fee is expected to lower the number of library patrons, which in turn would allow the library to operate with at least seven fewer part-time employees, Richard said. The staff reductions, he said, are expected to save about $100,000.

Another $100,000 in savings has come from renegotiating maintenance and other contracts. The number of books purchased also will be reduced, Richard said, but, in keeping with the city motto, children’s books will continue to be top priority.

The city operates three libraries and two bookmobiles.

Non-resident card holders were notified of the new fees by mail, and flyers have been posted at city libraries, Richard said.

The fees were unanimously approved at a June City Council meeting over the objections of Kathi Jo Brunning, Santa Ana PTA president and a library activist.

Richard said the library has received about half a dozen letters and 250 phone calls regarding the fees, but he characterized only a handful of them as angry. The rest, he said, were seeking more information.