(italics added). Sonoma County’s population over age 65 is 21% whereas Sebastopol’s, at 25%, is significantly higher. However our Branch has the lowest number of adult services librarians at only 0.5 FTE. In 2019, our Branch received nearly as many visitors as the Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library, despite being less than half its size. Our Branch was the third highest circulating branch in Sonoma County that year, just behind Santa Rosa Central and Petaluma, despite a much lower population and less-populated service area. Sebastopol also offered more programs than any other branch and attracted the second-highest number of teen program attendees.
That a library with this much activity only has 1 FTE more reference staff than the very smallest library, and 3.5 and 5.5 less than the mentioned comparable branches, also the largest branches, makes clear the need to increase the staff at the Sebastopol Regional Library.
Measure Y, through its Expenditure Plan, is intended to: support library collections, educational programs, and classes for children; improve access to local branch libraries; maintain library collections; and maintain aging library facilities to make them safe, clean and welcoming. Yet, the most recent Report from the Citizens’ Measure Y Oversight Committee Report for 2021-2022 states that the Library had an excess of revenues over expenditures of $3,948,328, to make an accumulated excess of approximately $8 million that is available for future spending.
Now more than ever, I see Sebastopol’s Branch Library as providing key services that strengthen our community. It is critical that the Sebastopol community has the Library and the Library Staff it deserves under the JPA. Financial resources are available to optimize the quality of the system’s public services, to be accountable to the JPA partners and the taxpayers, in every part the county equally, and to ensure sufficient staff to effectively deliver those public services.
Please authorize the recommended letter. Thank you, in advance, for your consideration.
Respectfully submitted,
Sarah Glade Gurney
Encls. by electronic attachment:
Measure Y Report, 2021-2022
SCL JPA Slide 10.18.21