Metro libraries cope with money woes

By the end of that same year, they were no longer pushing for expansion. They were fighting to survive.

In the wake of the recession, budget cuts derailed the Northeast Plaza branch. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Economic troubles have reverberated through every nook of the library system.

With a pained look and papers strewn on her desk, Alison Weissinger, director of the DeKalb County Public Library system, said she’s scaled back hours at branches, cut programs and shuffled employees to multiple branches.

“We were stuck,” said Weissinger. “We had branches that needed basic money. We ended up cutting everywhere.”

Throughout metro Atlanta, library systems have faced a similar quandary: How do they make do with less?

Some, including DeKalb, are taking a harder look at the viability of maintaining so many branch libraries. Indeed, DeKalb officials now concede that the Northeast Plaza branch wasn’t as essential as they first believed, and they have put on hold plans to break ground on another branch, even though the bond money is available for construction.

They are also experimenting with creative ways to reach potential library users, and adjust hours to better suit the book-borrowing public.

But the public’s deep attachment to libraries is causing them to move gingerly.

“We need to be careful,” said DeKalb County Commissioner Jeff Rader. “You don’t want to turn the library into a private institution. ... A library is a very powerful and democratic concept with access to all. We don’t want to lose that.”

Downward turn

It’s a familiar story line for libraries everywhere: money to build, but not to operate.

Fulton County plans to build eight new libraries and expand, renovate and consolidate its existing branches in a massive 10-year construction program, but for now doesn’t know where it will find the estimated $8 million per year needed to staff and operate them when they open.

In 2005, DeKalb voters approved a $230 million bond referendum that pumped $54.5 million into the library system. The bond money paid for one-time constructions costs. That included things like new auditoriums and Wi-Fi lounges, new sun-lit spaces serving as community anchors.

But the money didn’t pay for operating costs. Back in 2005, that didn’t seem like a big issue. For years, the county enjoyed rising revenue.

“We and every local government had experienced real increases in revenue as a result of the appreciation of housing values as well as other real estate,” said Rader. “And you would have a reasonable expectation of growing your services over time.”

There was, he said, an “implicit commitment” by county officials that if the voters approved the bond for new and updated libraries, the county would cover the costs.

Then the recession hit. Plummeting real estate values took a toll on a major source of income: property taxes.

And the DeKalb budget spiraled downward, declining by more than $100 million every year since its peak in 2008.

So by the fall of 2010, the much-anticipated Stonecrest branch near the Stonecrest mall was completed.

The stone library had a computer lab, children’s area, a 175-seat auditorium and library cafe.

But it was eerily quiet, silenced by economic troubles. With no money for staff, it sat unoccupied for six months. DeKalb opened the branch by shuffling existing staff from other branches.

Juggling branch hours

Weissinger said current funding from the county is only enough to cover limited hours and programming. She said that raises the question of whether to keep all 22 branches open, even if that means sometimes opening late, other times closing early, and having some branches closed on Sundays? (While the main library in Decatur lost just three hours, some of the smaller branches lost up to 12 hours and are closed Fridays and Saturdays.)

Or does it make more sense to have a smaller number of branches open, but open longer hours with bigger staff and more extensive programming?

“Nobody wants to live down the street from a library that closes. We know that,” she said.

In 2010, DeKalb closed the tiny Briarcliff Library, which is less than two miles from another branch, with little impact.

But last year, when DeKalb officials moved to close the Scott Candler Library, a 12-year-old child’s protest forced officials to reconsider and eventually keep the facility open. Sekondi Landry spent days walking up and down Candler Road, collecting signatures to save the library. Plans were already on the way for a new library. But public outcry kept the Scott Candler branch open until the new one is ready for business.

Cutbacks vs. closures

A new Pew Charitable Trusts report on libraries explored the public’s deep attachment to libraries. After the recession, Boston, Charlotte, Detroit, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Pittsburgh proposed eliminating branches. In all but Charlotte and Detroit, public protest put an end to these plans.

In 2008, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter suggested closing 11 of the city’s 49 neighborhood branches. He pointed out that the city had more libraries than any of the nation’s 10 largest cities. So closing a few, it seemed, would be OK. But it wasn’t. Residents protested, litigation was filed and the administration eventually backed down. Nutter has repeatedly called plans to close branches his “biggest mistake” as mayor.

Gwinnett County officials faced a similar backlash in 2009 when they proposed consolidating branches to help balance the budget. They abandoned the plan in the face of fierce community opposition, and have since opted to manage budget cuts by staggering library hours.

In DeKalb, Commissioner Rader doesn’t believe drastic measures such as closing library branches is necessary. He believes the limited hours are short-term. Still, he believes it’s time to rethink library hours.

“In many cases, the highest demand might not be between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.,” he said. “It might be between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m.”

The Pew study, called “The Library in the City: Changing Demands and a Challenging Future,” found weekend hours and higher-than-average library usage go hand and hand. Systems with Sunday hours have higher numbers of annual visits, the report found.

Services broaden

Larry Eichel, project director of the Philadelphia Research Initiative at the Pew Charitable Trust, said the study also showed how libraries have taken on new roles to stay relevant.

Libraries have become multipurpose community centers — a place to borrow books but also apply for government services and get help looking for a job.

That’s why, he said, residents generally prefer a reduction of hours over closing a branch. Because while you can hope to increase hours at some point, it’s harder to re-open a closed facility.

Still, the economic reality requires libraries to make some tough decisions. In Charlotte, officials eliminated an annual literacy festival and a job-help center. In Pittsburgh, voters approved a special property tax increase to support the public library system.

“We feel whatever decisions the public makes, we want people to be aware of what the library does and the role it has in society,” he said. “It’s not just a place for hanging out and getting books and DVDs — it’s so many things.”

Reaching the people

A growing number of services don’t need the physical space of a library to reach users. In DeKalb, staffers instead take the library on the road.

Two hours every week, Kate Juergens passes out books in a waiting area at a health clinic in DeKalb County.

A part-time employee for the DeKalb library system, Juergens talks to parents about services available at their nearest library. But she also passes out books for parents and children to wait until they see the doctor. With cartoons playing overhead, a handful of children devour books about a yellow school bus and 1,000 things to spot in the sea.

DeKalb Library Literacy Services Officer Laura Hauser said outreach doesn’t replace a brick-and-mortar building but provides another tool for reaching people. She’s not so sure a Northeast Plaza was the way to go.

“A library needs to be a place where you walk in it hopefully has something you want and need instead of saying, ‘If you are Spanish-speaking, you need to drive 12 miles to Buford Highway,’ ” she said.

Hauser said seven branches of the library offer ESL classes and their books can float, allowing a Spanish-speaking resident from any part of the county to have deep access to books in Spanish — as well as several other languages.

Meanwhile, over time, DeKalb library administrators also developed doubts about the need for a Northeast Plaza branch.

Demographic data showed that the county’s Hispanic population was shifting to Gwinnett. Officials didn’t want to open a branch aimed at Hispanics and then watch the community build roots somewhere else.

For now, the library is looking for ways to reach people without loosening purse strings.

Rader recently met with library staff and a church group that is helping lend and distribute books at Plaza Fiesta on the weekends.

DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson said while more people than ever use the library, it’s often taken for granted — until it’s gone.

“You can go into a library and get everything you need free of charge,” said Johnson.

“You’ve got the white-collar worker, the blue-collared and the no collar all using the library. It is the life blood of the community. But it’s like water. You use it every day, and you take it for granted unless something goes wrong and you don’t have it.”

FOUR WAYS TO HELP YOUR LIBRARY

1. Be a Friend to the library: Sign up for Friends of the Library.

The Friends support the library in many ways, including raising funds through book sales.

2. Don’t be quiet: Let people know you care about the library. Share information about resources available at the library.

3. Volunteer: From doing little (and important) things like cleaning books and watering plants to helping teach computer skills to helping set up for special events and creating displays, there’s plenty of opportunities to lend a hand.

4. Participate in fundraisers: Keep a lookout for 5K literacy runs and mystery nights at other revenue-raising events at your library.

LIBRARY WEEK

This week kicks off National Library Week. Here’s a look at some of the events planned.:

The Cobb County Public Library System

The exhibit: “Beyond Rosie: Women in World War II,” 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Central Library, 266 Roswell St., Marietta (This exhibit is on loan from the Kennesaw State University Museum of History and Holocaust Education.); Butterfly Gardening, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, East Cobb Library, 4880 Lower Roswell Road Suite 510-B, Marietta; and an art workshop for tweens 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Gritters Library, 880 Shaw Park Road, Marietta.

Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System

Library Week Scavenger Hunt

Test your knowledge of your branch library by participating in a scavenger hunt. Ask for the list of scavenger hunt questions at the service desk; search within the library to find the answers; and return to the service desk to receive the answers. Ongoing during library hours (noon to 7 p.m. Monday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday; noon to 6 p.m. Friday, Hapeville Branch, 525 King Arnold St., Hapeville. 404-762-4065; and Bingo for Books, a mix of bingo and books, 4 p.m. Wednesday, Adams Park Branch 2231 Campbellton Road SW, Atlanta. 404.752.8763. w.afpls.org