Bookended

Butte County Director of Libraries Nancy Brower can remember a time when the library actually had enough paid staffers to shelve the more than half-million items that patrons check out every year. But that was 20 years ago, before the first of three severe county budget crises hit. Since then, shelving has been handled by an army of 200 community volunteers.

“They [the shelvers] were the first to go,” Brower said. “I’ve been through so many budget cuts I’m just not sure I can do any more.”

Brower was reached by phone on a day when she was finalizing plans on how to cut $17,000 from an already-strapped budget. Just like every other county department that uses general-fund money, the library has been asked by county administrators to shed at least 1 percent of its total operating cost this fiscal year. In the library’s case, Brower said, that means cutting programs, buying fewer books and closing down at least one extra day every month.

“There may be times when you’ll have to wait longer to check out a book or that reference help might not be available. We may have to shut down Internet access.”

The cuts are in response to a $10 million shortfall the county is facing, a situation the county blames the state for creating. Brower said it began with the lowering of the vehicle license fee (VLF), which generates a full quarter of the county’s discretionary budget. The money was “backfilled” by Gov. Schwarzenegger, but if the governor’s current budget proposal passes, the same amount will taken away again in the form of property tax shifts. Brower joined a growing chorus of department heads and county administrators when she declared that the public doesn’t truly understand what services are at stake.

“Either the public is missing something or I am,” she said, adding jokingly “Maybe the Chico News & Review can challenge its readers to take that money they saved from the VLF and donate it to the library.”

Roughly half the library’s budget goes to paying 25 full-time employees (three additional positions are paid for by the city of Chico) who staff the system’s six branches. Brower said the ratio of workers to items circulated is "pretty teeny" compared to other small libraries.