San Franciscobay Area Elected Representatives

San FranciscoBay Area Elected Representatives

San FranciscoBay Area

Subject: Performance Data Of California Libraries Reveals Two Dominant

Groups: Children and Video/AudioCD users—Costing Taxpayers

Almost $1B/Year.

Elected Representatives:

Summary

Data provided via the California State Library for 2006-07 has been used to investigate the groups most heavily using the state’s public libraries. The data reveals that two groups (children and Video/AudioCD) dominant the circulation statistics, with these two groups alone comprising upwards of 80% of the circulation of most public libraries. With public libraries costing California taxpayers upwards of $1.4B yearly, servicing these two dominant groups is costing almost $900M yearly. The data for the whole state is provided in the first dataset, and the data for the Bay Area libraries is provided in a second dataset for the convenience of Bay Area Elected Officials to find their respective libraries costs and circulation statistics easily.

Overview

The contraction of the California economy, resulting in reduced government spending, has resulted in the Santa Clara County Library System to charge non-residents an $80 fee for borrowing privileges, which some have seen as “controversial”, and others recognize that such feesare meaningless, in terms of solving any funding problems that can be attributed to basic problems associated with public libraries.

Mission of Libraries Shifting

Given the rapid emergence of the “on-line world”, what is the mission of the public library? While most Americans would agree that a free access to information is a requirement for a meaningful “democracy”, and many of those same people would claim that public libraries are key to information being available to the “public”, the performance data of California libraries would tend to suggest that this mission is no longer being fulfilled by public libraries. The following data, obtained from the data released by the State Library for 2006-07 provides valuable insight into the circulation of the libraries reporting, and from the data, how the public is utilizing California public libraries, and that the mission of “educating the public” is no longer the clear mission of most public libraries--

Circulation of Children’s Books, and Non-Book Items (Videos/Audios) As A Percentage of Total Library Circulation

Libraries / Total Circulation / % of Children’s Circulation to Total Circulation / % of Non-Book Circulation To Total Circulation / % Children’s+ Non-Book Circulation / Total Expenditures / Cost of Children’s + Non-Book Circulation / Cost/ Cir-culated Item
VictorvilleCity Library / 168,756 / 48.73 / 19.14 / 67.87 / $132,000 / $89,588 / $0.78
MoorparkCity Library / 59,493 / 31.88 / 16.05 / 47.93 / $392,619 / $188,191 / $6.60
AlamedaCounty Library / 5,404,523 / 47.85 / 24.35 / 72.20 / $19,371,459 / $13,985,647 / $3.58
Alameda Free Library / 483,115 / 41.52 / 23.39 / 64.91 / $8,445,323 / $5,482,268 / $17.48
Alhambra Public Library / 459,197 / 55.30 / 9.09 / 64.39 / $2,130,650 / $1,371,921 / $4.64
Alpine CountyLibrary / 23,425 / 20.46 / 59.23 / 79.69 / $310,868 / $247,722 / $13.27
Altadena Library District / 177,829 / 30.11 / 32.98 / 63.09 / $2,256,902 / $1,423,892 / $12.69
AmadorCounty Library / 79,645 / 23.72 / 17.77 / 41.49 / $785,517 / $325,912 / $9.86
Arcadia Public Library / 686,108 / 61.44 / 27.39 / 88.83 / $2,834,212 / $2,517,569 / $4.13
PlacerCounty Library / 1,194,617 / 40.79 / 38.87 / 79.66 / $4,461,520 / $3,554,123 / $3.73
AzusaCity Library / 108,103 / 30.60 / 11.93 / 42.53 / $1,103,002 / $469,141 / $10.20
Berkeley Public Library / 1,609,726 / 28.96 / 41.06 / 70.02 / $13,504,134 / $9,455,800 / $8.39
Beverly Hills Public Library / 662,288 / 38.02 / 20.30 / 58.32 / $9,551,558 / $5,570,000 / $14.42
Brawley Public Library / 72,752 / 60.09 / 9.76 / 69.85 / $493,583 / $344,764 / $6.78
Buena Park Library District / 496,764 / 43.32 / 32.48 / 75.80 / $2,212,688 / $1,677,173 / $4.45
Burbank Public Library / 1,285,476 / 32.25 / 44.68 / 76.93 / $5,502,566 / $4,233,194 / $4.28
Burlingame Public Library / 599,833 / 36.51 / 27.96 / 64.47 / $3,727,447 / $2,403,201 / $6.21
Anaheim Public Library / 1,536,044 / 60.47 / 21.43 / 81.90 / $15,073,104 / $12,344,154 / $9.81
ButteCounty Library / 744,881 / 28.34 / 24.24 / 52.58 / $2,772,399 / $1,457,764 / $3.72
CalaverasCounty Library / 144,714 / 19.23 / 26.94 / 46.17 / $631,674 / $291,666 / $4.36
Camarena Memorial Public Library / 150,417 / 46.95 / 3.42 / 50.37 / $775,084 / $390,408 / $5.15
CarlsbadCity Library / 1,286,654 / 41.67 / 29.38 / 71.05 / $10,075,054 / $7,158,593 / $7.83
Harrison Memorial Library / 96,736 / 29.79 / 30.03 / 59.82 / $1,401,778 / $838,517 / $14.49
Cerritos Public Library / 895,346 / 46.49 / 22.50 / 68.99 / $5,121,090 / $3,533,087 / $5.72
Chula Vista Public Library / 1,344,175 / 30.43 / 33.45 / 63.88 / $7,277,592 / $4,648,706 / $5.41
Coalinga-Huron Unified School District Library / 40,325 / 41.83 / 13.44 / 55.27 / $893,629 / $493,916 / $22.16
Colton Public Library / 127,880 / 46.38 / 34.22 / 80.60 / $949,754 / $765,513 / $7.43
ColusaCounty Free Library / 39,651 / 20.00 / 11.51 / 31.51 / $678,423 / $213,740 / $17.11
City of Commerce Public Library / 217,553 / 61.25 / 40.13 / 101.38 / $2,857,368 / $2,896,681 / $13.13
ContraCostaCounty Library / 5,428,511 / 44.35 / 29.57 / 73.92 / $26,988,258 / $19,949,443 / $4.97
Corona Public Library / 560,612 / 54.07 / 26.36 / 80.43 / $2,945,289 / $2,368,910 / $5.25
Covina Public Library / 169,645 / 41.74 / 17.83 / 59.57 / $1,389,490 / $827,672 / $8.19
Daly City Public Library / 625,783 / 38.33 / 32.13 / 70.46 / $3,099,527 / $2,183,803 / $4.95
Del Norte County Library District / 61,361 / 16.57 / 27.49 / 44.06 / $246,081 / $108,419 / $4.01
Dixon Unified School District Library / 70,422 / 55.49 / 22.40 / 77.89 / $1,030,024 / $802,322 / $14.63
DowneyCity Library / 412,033 / 55.33 / 11.01 / 66.34 / $2,385,732 / $1,582,725 / $5.79
El Centro Public Library / 74,186 / 42.34 / 11.31 / 53.65 / $457,756 / $245,602 / $6.17
El DoradoCounty Library / 699,795 / 43.07 / 14.31 / 57.38 / $2,913,320 / $1,671,802 / $4.16
El Segundo Public Library / 240,864 / 62.83 / 14.66 / 77.49 / $1,960,950 / $1,519,527 / $8.14
Escondido Public Library / 817,604 / 26.99 / 37.60 / 64.59 / $4,295,396 / $2,774,506 / $5.25
HumboldtCounty Library / 619,805 / 24.35 / 20.33 / 44.68 / $2,592,721 / $1,158,497 / $4.18
FresnoCounty Public Library / 3,038,170 / 35.96 / 36.70 / 72.66 / $25,669,794 / $18,652,497 / $8.45
Fullerton Public Library / 910,991 / 47.88 / 13.13 / 61.01 / $3,602,035 / $2,197,668 / $3.95
Glendale Public Library / 1,088,286 / 31.41 / 26.61 / 58.02 / $7,826,825 / $4,541,347 / $7.19
Glendora Library & Cultural Center / 357,090 / 39.56 / 33.30 / 72.86 / $2,194,842 / $1,599,187 / $6.15
Hayward Public Library / 746,442 / 33.94 / 33.30 / 67.24 / $4,046,783 / $2,721,050 / $5.42
Hemet Public Library / 482,110 / 33.84 / 42.27 / 76.11 / $2,571,290 / $1,957,111 / $5.33
Huntington Beach Library / 826,921 / 46.65 / 9.32 / 55.97 / $5,302,434 / $2,967,682 / $6.41
Imperial CountyLibrary / 29,417 / 37.94 / 22.94 / 60.88 / $783,068 / $476,698 / $26.62
Imperial Public Library / 30,871 / 54.00 / 5.00 / 59.00 / $214,921 / $126,807 / $6.96
Inglewood Public Library / 202,466 / 43.44 / 35.90 / 79.34 / $2,824,111 / $2,240,646 / $13.95
InyoCounty Free Library / 129,976 / 14.29 / 34.57 / 48.86 / $676,591 / $330,558 / $5.21
KernCounty Library / 1,458,617 / 36.22 / 15.85 / 52.07 / $9,729,474 / $5,065,658 / $6.67
Kings County Library / 203,400 / 28.47 / 3.21 / 31.68 / $1,946,275 / $616,598 / $9.57
LakeCounty Library / 179,632 / 28.70 / 17.30 / 46.00 / $1,174,123 / $540,049 / $6.54
Larkspur Public Library / 120,908 / 38.74 / 15.17 / 53.91 / $608,393 / $327,981 / $5.03
Lincoln Public Library / 38,774 / 39.18 / 11.17 / 50.35 / $10,628,376 / $5,351,646 / $274.11
Livermore Public Library / 951,082 / 39.31 / 24.75 / 64.06 / $5,107,398 / $3,271,585 / $5.37
Lodi Public Library / 270,635 / 46.43 / 14.71 / 61.14 / $1,652,713 / $1,010,417 / $6.11
Lompoc Public Library / 287,496 / 31.17 / 32.98 / 64.15 / $1,197,631 / $768,325 / $4.17
Long Beach Public Library / 1,458,862 / 41.07 / 13.82 / 54.89 / $17,294,028 / $9,493,513 / $11.85
County of Los Angeles Public Library / 13,981,247 / 42.00 / 37.30 / 79.30 / $104,708,660 / $83,037,808 / $7.49
Los Angeles Public Library / 15,574,773 / 25.56 / 0.00 / 25.56 / $121,976,001 / $31,177,066 / $7.83
MaderaCounty Library / 372,492 / 29.33 / 41.45 / 70.78 / $1,370,966 / $970,392 / $3.68
MarinCounty Free Library / 1,655,335 / 34.28 / 26.64 / 60.92 / $11,108,940 / $6,767,149 / $6.71
MendocinoCounty Library / 362,415 / 24.62 / 25.02 / 49.64 / $1,718,327 / $852,962 / $4.74
Menlo Park Public Library / 600,708 / 38.33 / 31.48 / 69.81 / $2,097,165 / $1,463,934 / $3.49
MercedCounty Library / 527,919 / 37.28 / 7.49 / 44.77 / $2,261,047 / $1,012,360 / $4.28
MillValley Public Library / 326,273 / 33.03 / 35.83 / 68.86 / $1,581,251 / $1,088,822 / $4.85
ModocCounty Library / 76,228 / 15.03 / 31.97 / 47.00 / $382,430 / $179,732 / $5.02
MonoCounty Free Library / 136,180 / 16.89 / 33.83 / 50.72 / $748,543 / $379,652 / $5.50
Monrovia Public Library / 142,774 / 63.72 / 4.12 / 67.84 / $1,374,238 / $932,300 / $9.63
MontereyCounty Free Libraries / 801,287 / 32.82 / 42.09 / 74.91 / $6,218,740 / $4,658,569 / $7.76
Monterey Public Library / 426,299 / 39.45 / 24.07 / 63.52 / $2,771,276 / $1,760,196 / $6.50
Bruggemeyer Memorial Library / 326,176 / 54.56 / 10.98 / 65.54 / $3,152,046 / $2,065,927 / $9.66
Mountain View Public Library / 1,404,583 / 39.72 / 40.47 / 80.19 / $4,310,578 / $3,456,831 / $3.07
NapaCityCounty Library / 741,130 / 34.22 / 37.57 / 71.79 / $5,880,946 / $4,221,840 / $7.94
National City Public Library / 273,646 / 41.39 / 47.46 / 88.85 / $2,816,314 / $2,502,291 / $10.29
NevadaCounty Library / 680,289 / 29.25 / 37.42 / 66.67 / $2,432,875 / $1,622,069 / $3.58
Newport Beach Public Library / 1,622,573 / 35.18 / 43.29 / 78.47 / $6,613,037 / $5,188,941 / $4.08
Oakland Public Library / 2,270,755 / 41.63 / 31.29 / 72.92 / $24,700,335 / $18,012,330 / $10.88
Oceanside Public Library / 480,406 / 39.51 / 26.42 / 65.93 / $6,048,387 / $3,987,912 / $12.59
OntarioCity Library / 551,217 / 46.95 / 26.70 / 73.65 / $3,103,520 / $2,285,827 / $5.63
Orange CountyPublic Library / 6,767,502 / 46.45 / 14.57 / 61.02 / $47,354,160 / $28,896,481 / $7.00
Orange Public Library / 442,053 / 53.58 / 29.08 / 82.66 / $9,922,019 / $8,201,249 / $22.45
Orland Free Library / 51,040 / 32.29 / 5.78 / 38.07 / $333,785 / $127,071 / $6.54
Oxnard Public Library / 1,311,962 / 48.01 / 21.71 / 69.72 / $8,395,425 / $5,853,175 / $6.40
Pacific Grove Public Library / 247,437 / 28.53 / 22.34 / 50.87 / $933,521 / $474,911 / $3.77
PalmdaleCity Library / 394,167 / 59.08 / 15.43 / 74.51 / $2,911,411 / $2,169,426 / $7.39
Palm Springs Public Library / 353,851 / 19.68 / 42.56 / 62.24 / $2,364,542 / $1,471,765 / $6.68
Palo AltoCity Library / 1,414,509 / 39.83 / 40.68 / 80.51 / $9,190,532 / $7,398,938 / $6.50
Palos Verdes Library District / 842,841 / 40.65 / 18.05 / 58.70 / $5,786,007 / $3,396,518 / $6.86
Palo Verde Valley Library District / 32,107 / 28.76 / 7.85 / 36.61 / $296,798 / $108,673 / $9.24
Pasadena Public Library / 1,821,998 / 12.01 / 0.00 / 12.01 / $11,446,990 / $1,374,783 / $6.28
Paso Robles Public Library / 229,766 / 26.59 / 30.21 / 56.80 / $1,632,179 / $927,111 / $7.10
Placentia Library District / 231,682 / 40.28 / 28.34 / 68.62 / $2,349,121 / $1,611,970 / $10.14
PlumasCounty Library / 70,022 / 21.04 / 14.83 / 35.87 / $690,874 / $247,824 / $9.87
Pomona Public Library / 218,670 / 47.59 / 7.73 / 55.32 / $3,066,239 / $1,696,297 / $14.02
Porterville Public Library / 228,203 / 28.04 / 42.96 / 71.00 / $559,185 / $397,024 / $2.45
Redondo Beach Public Library / 844,497 / 52.70 / 52.23 / 104.93 / $3,789,987 / $3,976,861 / $4.49
Redwood City Public Library / 1,117,540 / 41.40 / 44.14 / 85.54 / $9,190,185 / $7,861,250 / $8.22
Richmond Public Library / 164,070 / 37.93 / 24.59 / 62.52 / $5,522,936 / $3,452,811 / $33.66
Riverside Public Library / 1,060,244 / 39.39 / 29.30 / 68.69 / $9,409,692 / $6,463,957 / $8.88
Roseville Public Library / 685,095 / 52.75 / 24.76 / 77.51 / $4,046,391 / $3,136,549 / $5.91
Sacramento Public Library / 6,125,029 / 40.64 / 21.36 / 62.00 / $31,121,993 / $19,294,847 / $5.08
Salinas Public Library / 248,813 / 31.63 / 34.37 / 66.00 / $3,500,000 / $2,309,943 / $14.07
San Anselmo Public Library / 106,745 / 24.97 / 38.04 / 63.01 / $440,255 / $277,393 / $4.12
San BenitoCounty Free Library / 95,286 / 39.99 / 25.10 / 65.09 / $602,705 / $392,283 / $6.33
San BernardinoCounty Library / 2,518,300 / 43.37 / 0.00 / 43.37 / $16,313,564 / $7,075,193 / $6.48
San Bernardino Public Library / 405,357 / 39.39 / 19.61 / 59.00 / $2,867,660 / $1,692,015 / $7.07
San Bruno Public Library / 331,708 / 30.77 / 41.22 / 71.99 / $1,709,825 / $1,230,918 / $5.15
San DiegoCounty Library / 4,924,639 / 37.05 / 21.09 / 58.14 / $32,863,906 / $19,108,514 / $6.67
San Diego Public Library / 7,167,104 / 35.77 / 36.57 / 72.34 / $49,291,433 / $35,657,347 / $6.88
San Francisco Public Library / 7,685,892 / 22.81 / 40.00 / 62.81 / $73,780,614 / $46,341,604 / $9.60
San Jose Public Library / 14,060,019 / 39.93 / 40.50 / 80.43 / $63,958,812 / $51,439,954 / $4.55
San JuanBautistaCity Library / 3,272 / 0.00 / 0.00 / $92,009 / $0 / $28.12
San Leandro Community Library / 793,532 / 17.92 / 28.52 / 46.44 / $5,035,330 / $2,338,564 / $6.35
San Luis ObispoCounty Library / 1,628,744 / 25.71 / 36.40 / 62.11 / $7,277,832 / $4,519,918 / $4.47
San Marino Public Library / 97,080 / 46.42 / 11.42 / 57.84 / $15,868,681 / $9,177,867 / $163.46
San MateoCounty Library / 3,698,838 / 35.22 / 40.89 / 76.11 / $17,652,034 / $13,435,069 / $4.77
San Mateo Public Library / 737,096 / 29.00 / 27.43 / 56.43 / $5,266,431 / $2,972,001 / $7.14
San Rafael Public Library / 359,411 / 32.29 / 23.60 / 55.89 / $2,752,142 / $1,538,050 / $7.66
Santa Ana Public Library / 329,637 / 95.13 / 25.44 / 120.57 / $3,339,811 / $4,026,824 / $10.13
Santa Barbara Public Library / 1,574,512 / 0.00 / 0.00 / $6,763,569 / $0 / $4.30
Santa ClaraCity Library / 2,532,913 / 50.43 / 32.36 / 82.79 / $6,595,187 / $5,460,370 / $2.60
Santa ClaraCounty Library / 9,589,217 / 45.97 / 41.45 / 87.42 / $30,823,936 / $26,947,235 / $3.21
Santa Cruz Libraries / 2,051,331 / 30.76 / 35.61 / 66.37 / $12,588,570 / $8,355,445 / $6.14
Santa FeSpringsCity Library / 123,002 / 38.33 / 37.59 / 75.92 / $1,726,700 / $1,310,890 / $14.04
Santa Maria Public Library / 451,366 / 37.49 / 40.40 / 77.89 / $11,838,506 / $9,221,252 / $26.23
Santa Monica Public Library / 1,098,570 / 27.93 / 40.37 / 68.30 / $9,731,089 / $6,645,991 / $8.86
Santa Paula Public Library District / 74,954 / 59.41 / 0.00 / 59.41 / $690,819 / $410,416 / $9.22
Sausalito Public Library / 78,225 / 15.05 / 40.04 / 55.09 / $590,383 / $325,255 / $7.55
ShastaCounty Library / 327,058 / 17.85 / 29.91 / 47.76 / $2,291,370 / $1,094,414 / $7.01
Sierra Madre Public Library / 81,879 / 41.14 / 26.83 / 67.97 / $743,008 / $505,030 / $9.07
SiskiyouCounty Free Library / 201,208 / 16.60 / 23.59 / 40.19 / $1,891,002 / $760,060 / $9.40
SolanoCounty Library / 2,315,432 / 34.62 / 45.55 / 80.17 / $20,071,405 / $16,092,127 / $8.67
SonomaCounty Library / 2,831,754 / 36.59 / 27.18 / 63.77 / $14,613,117 / $9,318,487 / $5.16
South Pasadena Public Library / 375,931 / 52.38 / 23.70 / 76.08 / $1,481,182 / $1,126,936 / $3.94
South San Francisco Public Library / 601,141 / 34.02 / 49.18 / 83.20 / $4,653,776 / $3,871,948 / $7.74
StanislausCounty Free Library / 2,269,303 / 22.44 / 7.91 / 30.35 / $10,759,578 / $3,265,983 / $4.74
St. Helena Public Library / 230,634 / 34.57 / 48.45 / 83.02 / $1,015,130 / $842,725 / $4.40
San JoaquinCounty Public Library / 1,949,278 / 34.02 / 19.73 / 53.75 / $12,570,970 / $6,756,300 / $6.45
Sunnyvale Public Library / 2,247,777 / 35.09 / 30.06 / 65.15 / $6,538,087 / $4,259,701 / $2.91
SutterCounty Library / 376,043 / 45.67 / 14.34 / 60.01 / $1,254,898 / $753,049 / $3.34
TehamaCounty Library / 93,001 / 22.30 / 16.58 / 38.88 / $508,946 / $197,886 / $5.47
Torrance Public Library / 1,152,570 / 40.27 / 26.00 / 66.27 / $6,714,256 / $4,449,525 / $5.83
TrinityCounty Free Library / 31,602 / 26.37 / 14.67 / 41.04 / $302,202 / $124,024 / $9.56
TulareCounty Free Library / 673,641 / 20.62 / 5.98 / 26.60 / $2,812,403 / $748,054 / $4.17
Tulare Public Library / 147,569 / 23.84 / 34.89 / 58.73 / $758,120 / $445,276 / $5.14
TuolumneCounty Library / 212,955 / 20.50 / 27.95 / 48.45 / $1,187,489 / $575,350 / $5.58
Upland Public Library / 321,232 / 42.76 / 4.76 / 47.52 / $1,653,769 / $785,909 / $5.15
VenturaCounty Library / 1,508,629 / 45.12 / 28.90 / 74.02 / $11,210,841 / $8,298,794 / $7.43
Watsonville Public Library / 266,037 / 32.93 / 22.53 / 55.46 / $3,436,810 / $1,906,131 / $12.92
Whittier Public Library / 531,374 / 35.36 / 17.33 / 52.69 / $3,022,938 / $1,592,643 / $5.69
Willows Public Library / 48,156 / 33.60 / 12.56 / 46.16 / $301,123 / $138,983 / $6.25
Woodland Public Library / 274,703 / 37.03 / 35.66 / 72.69 / $1,729,222 / $1,256,939 / $6.29
YoloCounty Library / 1,308,150 / 34.99 / 27.16 / 62.15 / $3,969,619 / $2,467,199 / $3.03
Yorba Linda Public Library / 700,059 / 46.95 / 19.94 / 66.89 / $4,484,029 / $2,999,388 / $6.41
YubaCounty Library / 130,902 / 26.74 / 26.74 / 53.48 / $922,806 / $493,494 / $7.05
Coronado Public Library / 327,622 / 27.19 / 20.19 / 47.38 / $2,094,904 / $992,528 / $6.39
Irwindale Public Library / 13,051 / 47.27 / 41.11 / 88.38 / $392,083 / $346,515 / $30.04
Vernon Public Library / 0 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / $0 / $0 / $0.00
Benicia Public Library / 320,873 / 36.23 / 39.34 / 75.57 / $2,197,898 / $1,660,942 / $6.85
Los Gatos Public Library / 365,563 / 45.29 / 42.42 / 87.71 / $1,500,721 / $1,316,336 / $4.11
A. K. Smiley Public Library / 250,228 / 52.68 / 12.03 / 64.71 / $2,047,708 / $1,325,085 / $8.18
Signal Hill Public Library / 68,321 / 28.27 / 47.50 / 75.77 / $331,484 / $251,158 / $4.85
Banning Unified School District Library / 110,873 / 29.49 / 44.11 / 73.60 / $732,436 / $539,039 / $6.61
Beaumont Library District / 112,348 / 24.90 / 34.71 / 59.61 / $834,295 / $497,338 / $7.43
Thousand Oaks Library / 1,503,649 / 36.43 / 17.38 / 53.81 / $12,348,929 / $6,644,760 / $8.21
MariposaCounty Library / 126,469 / 18.48 / 45.84 / 64.32 / $416,539 / $267,913 / $3.29
Folsom Public Library / 360,064 / 45.83 / 16.61 / 62.44 / $9,068,679 / $5,662,568 / $25.19
Rancho Cucamonga Public Library / 931,031 / 46.00 / 13.26 / 59.26 / $5,620,230 / $3,330,478 / $6.04
Lassen Library District / 36,301 / 32.51 / 22.85 / 55.36 / $194,058 / $107,421 / $5.35
Rancho Mirage Public Library / 491,604 / 17.43 / 47.17 / 64.60 / $3,559,867 / $2,299,815 / $7.24
Belvedere-Tiburon Library / 225,075 / 30.20 / 38.69 / 68.89 / $1,548,534 / $1,066,768 / $6.88
Mission ViejoCity Library / 711,633 / 49.86 / 24.76 / 74.62 / $2,945,109 / $2,197,527 / $4.14
Riverside CountyLibrary Service / 2,353,686 / 37.47 / 24.76 / 62.23 / $21,433,145 / $13,338,223 / $9.11
MorenoValley Public Library / 174,885 / 62.32 / 11.58 / 73.90 / $2,839,804 / $2,098,555 / $16.24
CalabasasCity Library / 102,777 / 43.11 / 32.29 / 75.40 / $2,396,562 / $1,807,085 / $23.32
Murrieta Public Library / 182,030 / 51.09 / 15.44 / 66.53 / $2,304,214 / $1,532,937 / $12.66
Pleasanton Public Library / 1,237,543 / 49.71 / 37.56 / 87.27 / $3,952,749 / $3,449,413 / $3.19
Averages: / 37.26 / 25.92 / 62.76
Totals: / $1,352,388,087 / $862,056,571

For convenience of Bay Area Elected Officials, the following data, replicated from above, focuses only on Bay Area public libraries--

Circulation of Children’s Books, and Non-Book Items (Videos/Audios) As A Percentage of Total Library Circulation of San FranciscoBay Area Libraries

Libraries / Total Circulation / % of Children’s Circulation to Total Circulation / % of Non-Book Circulation To Total Circulation / % Children’s+ Non-Book Circulation / Total Expenditures / Cost of Children’s + Non-Book Circulation / Cost/Item
AlamedaCounty Library / 5,404,523 / 47.85 / 24.35 / 72.20 / $19,371,459 / $13,985,647 / $3.58
Alameda Free Library / 483,115 / 41.52 / 23.39 / 64.91 / $8,445,323 / $5,482,268 / $17.48
Berkeley Public Library / 1,609,726 / 28.96 / 41.06 / 70.02 / $13,504,134 / $9,455,800 / $8.39
Hayward Public Library / 746,442 / 33.94 / 33.30 / 67.24 / $4,046,783 / $2,721,050 / $5.42
Oakland Public Library / 2,270,755 / 41.63 / 31.29 / 72.92 / $24,700,335 / $18,012,330 / $10.88
San Leandro Community Library / 793,532 / 17.92 / 28.52 / 46.44 / $5,035,330 / $2,338,564 / $6.35
ContraCostaCounty Library / 5,428,511 / 44.35 / 29.57 / 73.92 / $26,988,258 / $19,949,443 / $4.97
Richmond Public Library / 164,070 / 37.93 / 24.59 / 62.52 / $5,522,936 / $3,452,811 / $33.66
Larkspur Public Library / 120,908 / 38.74 / 15.17 / 53.91 / $608,393 / $327,981 / $5.03
MarinCounty Free Library / 1,655,335 / 34.28 / 26.64 / 60.92 / $11,108,940 / $6,767,149 / $6.71
MillValley Public Library / 326,273 / 33.03 / 35.83 / 68.86 / $1,581,251 / $1,088,822 / $4.85
Sausalito Public Library / 78,225 / 15.05 / 40.04 / 55.09 / $590,383 / $325,255 / $7.55
Los Gatos Public Library / 365,563 / 45.29 / 42.42 / 87.71 / $1,500,721 / $1,316,336 / $4.11
Mountain View Public Library / 1,404,583 / 39.72 / 40.47 / 80.19 / $4,310,578 / $3,456,831 / $3.07
Palo AltoCity Library / 1,414,509 / 39.83 / 40.68 / 80.51 / $9,190,532 / $7,398,938 / $6.50
San Jose Public Library / 14,060,019 / 39.93 / 40.50 / 80.43 / $63,958,812 / $51,439,954 / $4.55
Santa ClaraCity Library / 2,532,913 / 50.43 / 32.36 / 82.79 / $6,595,187 / $5,460,370 / $2.60
Santa ClaraCounty Library / 9,589,217 / 45.97 / 41.45 / 87.42 / $30,823,936 / $26,947,235 / $3.21
Sunnyvale Public Library / 2,247,777 / 35.09 / 30.06 / 65.15 / $6,538,087 / $4,259,701 / $2.91
San Francisco Public Library / 7,685,892 / 22.81 / 40.00 / 62.81 / $73,780,614 / $46,341,604 / $9.60
Burlingame Public Library / 599,833 / 36.51 / 27.96 / 64.47 / $3,727,447 / $2,403,201 / $6.21
Daly City Public Library / 625,783 / 38.33 / 32.13 / 70.46 / $3,099,527 / $2,183,803 / $4.95
Menlo Park Public Library / 600,708 / 38.33 / 31.48 / 69.81 / $2,097,165 / $1,463,934 / $3.49
Redwood City Public Library / 1,117,540 / 41.40 / 44.14 / 85.54 / $9,190,185 / $7,861,250 / $8.22
San Bruno Public Library / 331,708 / 30.77 / 41.22 / 71.99 / $1,709,825 / $1,230,918 / $5.15
San MateoCounty Library / 3,698,838 / 35.22 / 40.89 / 76.11 / $17,652,034 / $13,435,069 / $4.77
San Mateo Public Library / 737,096 / 29.00 / 27.43 / 56.43 / $5,266,431 / $2,972,001 / $7.14
South San Francisco Public Library / 601,141 / 34.02 / 49.18 / 83.20 / $4,653,776 / $3,871,948 / $7.74

Notes:

(1)Changes in format of library performance data for years after 2006-07 makes this the last year that this particular data is readily available.

(2)Libraries submit this information voluntarily.

(3)Total expenditures include yearly capital costs. This approach can cause “spiking” of total expenditures, which distorts comparisons of “total”/”true” cost comparisons between libraries on a year-by-year basis.

(4)Number(s) in “Red” are estimates.

(5)“Zeros” imply those libraries did not collect statistics for this usage statistic.

(6)E-books can be purchased for prices ranging from $0.00 to $10.00, typically.

(7)Videos are available on-line for prices ranging from $0.00 to market rate. Netflix offers a monthly subscription at less than $10/month.

(8)Redbox Video rentals (available in local supermarkets) are as low as $1/rental.

Discussion

The data reveals that libraries are servicing two primary groups of borrowers: children, and video/audio users. These two groups seem to be dominating the circulation statistics, with the combined totals in the eighty percent (80%) of total circulation, for most California libraries. The percentage of video/audio checkouts ranges from less than 10% (typically in the more rural areas) to over fifty percent (50%) in some libraries. Locally, almost half of the San Francisco Bay Area libraries seem to be seeing at least 40% of their circulation in videos/audios.

When the Children’s and Non-book circulation percentages are combined, we see that most public libraries are seeing 70%-80% of their circulation in these two areas alone. When viewed from the point-of-view of total expenditures, over $800M was expended in 2006-07 operating public libraries to circulate children’s books, and videos—all of which are available from local commercial sources. Children’s books for children older than six years old are also available in local school libraries, which could function in a “dual-use” mode to allow public use of school libraries when schools are not in session.

This revealing data begs the following questions:

a)How many libraries publish this sort of data in their annual reports?

b)How many libraries model their activities to understand where their dollars are consumed within their organizations?

c)Should libraries be allowed to carry videos/audios that are readily available in the private sector?

d)Should libraries not charge for non-essential checkouts (like entertainment videos), so that the public is not put into the situation of subsidizing the entertainment of library patrons?

e)Should libraries be forced to move to e-books to reduce the physical space requirements of p-books, thereby reducing the cost of providing children’s books to the public?

f)When will elected officials actually become concerned about this vast sum of money being spent maintaining these brick-n-mortar buildings when digital technology can reduce the costs dramatically, while increasing accessibility to the public as a whole.

g)When will public libraries and local school libraries begin to combine their collections, to reduce cost to the taxpayers?

The matter of regionalization of municipal/country resources clearly is a tool that would allow contiguous, and overlapping, government agencies to consolidate their library functions, with the possibility of significant cost reductions once the redundancies are resolved.

Conclusion

Operating public libraries in California costs the public about $1.4B a year. Examination of the performance data for 2006-07 reveals that upwards of $900M is spent providing children’s books, and entertainment Videos/AudioCDs—rather than materials that edify the public, at large.

It is difficult not to see that there is significant overlap in the inventories of these public libraries, which would, in the private sector, dictate consolidation of these libraries in order to reduce costs. Unfortunately, the mindset of the public sector seems to reject this sort of financial control, and duplicates these inventories for hard-to-explain reasons, other than “we can”.

The rapid emergence of e-books, and on-line availability of just about every conceivable form of entertainment—from games to recently-released videos—should be seen as an trigger for public policy makers to ponder why the taxpayers are subsidizing some of the population to videos costing from three to ten (3-10) times less than the costs of circulating the same items within the context of public libraries.

Elected Officials—how much longer can the taxpayers be expected to operate these libraries, which seem to be unaware of the capabilities of information technology—much of which was developed right here in the Silicon Valley? How much longer can taxpayers be expected to subsidize possibly fifty (50%) percent of public library’s circulating Non-book items (Videos/AudioCDs), when these materials can be easily acquired on-line?

Elected Officials—when will you begin to rethink the need for public libraries that no longer service the general public, but nonetheless require vast sums of public money being spent to build, and operate these facilities?

On-the Net:

books.google.com

The Hidden Cost of Bay Area Libraries:

Wayne Martin

Palo Alto, CA

PS—Please include this communication in your City/County’s public record.