Library Cuts Staff and Hours

Trustees of the Placentia Library District cut staffing, reduced library hours and eliminated programs for children this week to deal with a tightening budget, officials said.

The city’s voters rejected a tax measure Nov. 5 that would have raised an estimated $460,000 annually for five years to maintain and restore library services and programs. The library operates as an independent special district and does not receive city funds.

In the past several years the library district’s revenue, which comes primarily from property taxes, has dropped substantially. The result has been cuts in programs, reduced hours and the elimination of eight staff positions.

Library Director Elizabeth D. Minter said this week that, to reduce spending by nearly $84,000 in the next six months, trustees had no choice but to make additional cutbacks.

Trustee President Peggy Dinsmore acknowledged that making the cuts was difficult. “It’s going to take us down to bare bones,” she said.

Cost-saving measures include reducing the staff to 13 full-time positions from 16, not opening on Saturdays beginning next year, and closing the library Dec. 22 to Jan. 4.

Library hours beginning Jan. 5 will be 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays, noon to 9 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays. The library will be closed Fridays and Saturdays.

The library’s book budget was also reduced for the rest of this fiscal year, which ends June 30. Minter said staffing changes and shorter hours will be in effect for at least 18 months.

Meanwhile, the Placentia Library Foundation will continue to solicit community support for its adopt-a-book program to buy new volumes and periodicals, and will seek sponsorships for children’s programs, officials said.