Libraries Pin Their Hopes on Prop. 14

Afternoon arrives at the Lennox Public Library and once again the place is packed.

A traffic jam forms at the front counter as patrons wait to check out books. A dozen mothers and their children plop down at tables after a librarian politely asks a visitor to help clear away books because it’s time for arts and crafts.

Every available inch of space is occupied in the library, which serves thousands more people than it was built to accommodate half a century ago.

“We have too little space,” said librarian Glorieta Navo. “It restricts us.”

The Lennox library, located just east of Los Angeles International Airport, is a poster child for California’s aging public libraries.

The poor conditions have generated several efforts to improve libraries statewide. For Lennox, a Los Angeles County restoration program may bring major improvements. For hundreds of other libraries, the bulk of any help will depend on state voters.

A measure on the March 7 ballot--Proposition 14--would raise $350 million to renovate and expand libraries statewide and build new ones where they are lacking.

Proponents call Proposition 14 an investment in literacy and learning. But they say the measure will meet only a fraction of the overwhelming library construction needs in a state that last raised money for the cause through a $75-million bond measure in 1988.

State library officials have identified $2 billion worth of potential construction and renovation work for libraries statewide, including the need for at least 245 new libraries. There are more than 1,040 libraries in the state today.

Outdated and overcrowded facilities need new wiring and computers to reach the Internet, as well as new tables, chairs and lights. Some need to be shored up against earthquakes or require alterations for handicapped access.

Many communities that have experienced explosive growth--places such as the Antelope and San Gabriel valleys--need new facilities, officials report.

“We’re playing catch-up,” said Ann Cousineau, director of library services in Solano County and co-chair of the grass-roots campaign Californians for Literacy and Community Libraries. “I can almost guarantee that we will be back at some point in the future asking for another bond.”

The campaign has been a low-key affair, with little organized opposition. However, the measure has drawn some criticism.

State Sen. Ray Haynes (R-Riverside), who wrote the ballot argument against the measure, said the state should investigate ways of putting existing libraries to better use before spending money on new ones.

Haynes said a random check of 100 libraries showed the facilities were open 35 hours a week on average. He said that operating hours should be increased.

Haynes also said he objects to spending money on bonds at a time when the state has a multibillion-dollar budget surplus at its disposal. A $350-million bond measure would actually cost $600 million over 25 years when interest is included.

“If we’re not making the maximum use of the libraries we have, why are we running around spending money to build more?” Haynes said. “What makes us think we’re going to get a better-run library simply because we build a new one?”

The 1988 bond funds paid for 22 new libraries and renovations at two others. Still, state library officials say the infusion failed to provide an additional $150 million in necessary library work.

Proposition 14, they say, is an attempt to partially address the problem.

Under the measure, the state would pay 65% of the cost for new library projects; local governments would pay the remaining 35%, or $190 million. Priority would go to joint projects of libraries and schools. The funds could pay for construction and renovation as well as such equipment as computers, tables and chairs; the money could not be used for operating costs or books.

Proposition 14 was placed on the ballot by the Legislature after a grass-roots campaign by the California Library Assn. Proponents mounted an aggressive letter-writing effort and prepared lists of library needs in every legislative district and then forwarded the information to members of the Assembly and Senate.

It was the seventh time in a decade that library activists had sought a statewide library bond measure.

Some library officials predict that Proposition 14 will benefit from the state’s economic boom, saying voters may be more likely to spend money on projects at a time when the economy is riding high.

Just two years ago, Los Angeles voters overwhelmingly approved a $178-million bond measure to build four new branches and expand or renovate 28 others.

“I think the bond measure demonstrates that people see the value that libraries play in the cultural well-being of the community,” said Peter Persic, a spokesman for the city’s libraries, who noted that 73% of voters approved the measure. “These libraries are places where kids come to learn and adults engage in lifelong learning. They are becoming true community centers.”

For now, facilities like the Lennox library can only dream about becoming community centers.

The nearly 5,000-square-foot facility still has no homework center for children because of its limited space. It has only one computer hooked up to the Internet. There is no separate space for visitors to read magazines and newspapers.

“I feel bad because the library should be able to serve people [as soon as possible],” said librarian Navo. “But we can’t do that because of the space.”