Santa Monica Public Library To Lose Dozens
Of Employees Under Proposed Budget Cuts
SM
Daily Press: 5.08.2020 by Madeleine Pauker
The Santa
Monica Public Library is facing a 40% reduction in funding as the city of
Santa Monica makes deep cuts to avoid a budget deficit brought on by the
coronavirus recession.
If City Council approves a $5.5 million
reduction in its $13 million budget, the library will eliminate 26.5 full-time
positions and lay off 80 as-needed pages, said Patty Wong, director of library
services. Forty-seven remaining employees will circulate between three
locations that will reopen, working to maintain safe access to books and
computers and facilitating programs online and in-person.
“It’s scary, intimating, difficult and
sad, but at same time something we’re committed to doing because we have this
incredible economic stressor ahead of us,” Wong said. “We have the
responsibility to the public to provide the best service we can regardless of
what the circumstances are.”
The library closed its five locations in
March to slow the spread of coronavirus. The Fairview and Ocean Park branches
will remain closed for the foreseeable future, and the system’s three most
popular locations — the Main Library and the Montana and Pico branches — will
reopen on limited schedules when stay-at-home orders are relaxed.
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Wong said even with a smaller budget and
staff, the library sees itself as a key part of the local recovery effort.
With a rising number of adults out of
work, Wong said the library will double down on workforce development programs,
including skill building, reading and digital literacy, and jobs matching
programs.
She said maintaining services to youth
and families will be difficult with more than 80% of youth-serving librarians
laid off, but added that the library has a large catalogue of virtual
children’s books, has been experimenting with online children’s programs and
plans to continue free youth tutoring programs when branches reopen. READ
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Readability Consensus
Based on (7) readability formulas:
Grade
Level: 14
Reading
Level: difficult to read.
Reader's
Age: 21-22 yrs. Old
(college level)
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