Subject: Message from Chairman Bulova regarding Fairfax County Libraries
Dear Mr. Maynard,
I
read with interest the recent articles you wrote regarding the Fairfax
County Public Library system. I share your feelings about the importance
of having a quality public library system in Fairfax County and very
much appreciate your
advocacy. Annual surveys of our library patrons from the last 10 years
have shown a satisfaction rate higher than 95% so clearly we are doing
something very right even in these challenging times. I do feel however
that it is necessary to respond to some of
the claims you make in your articles.
First,
the Fairfax Federation of Citizens Associations requested an
“independent comprehensive fiscal audit of the Fairfax County Public
Library,” a "complete collection inventory," as well as an “audit of the
system gift fund.” I have
taken their concerns very seriously and have agreed to follow up on
their concerns. I was able to let them know that the FCPL’s business
process was reviewed by the Office of Internal Audit in October 2013 and
there were no reportable findings. The audit can
be viewed by going to
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/audit/pdf/reports/2013reports/13-12-14_fcpl_final_report.pdf
I
was glad to be able to report that our Library system does conduct an
annual inventory of materials. They are able to provide daily records of
checkins, checkouts, transfers, new items added and items removed from
the collection. These
reports help identify items that are missing or lost.
On
the financial aspects of their request, in my response to the
Federation and subsequent Board Matter (both attached) I explained the
three entities involved in the finances of FCPL: the Fairfax Library
Foundation, the FCPL Departmental
Gift Fund, and the Friends of the Library groups.
The
Library Foundation is a separate 501(c)3 that is audited annually by a
private firm. Audit reports for the last three years, as well as its
fund management policies can be viewed on the Foundation’s website at
http://www.fairfaxlibraryfoundation.org/aboutus/
The
Departmental Gift Fund is governed by strict County fiscal policies, as
I more specifically describe in my attached response to the
Federation's letter. The Gift Fund was a part of the above mentioned
audit. However, I thought the Federation's
request for an audit was appropriate and therefore included it in my
Board Matter.
Our
library branches are fortunate to have the help and support of Friends
of the Library groups that augment library services and activities. The
Friends are also 501(c)3 organizations. As part of their
responsibilities, these groups assist
the libraries with the disposal and sales of surplus library books.
Space is provided for the Friends in each branch for storage of books
and materials. They each operate under a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) with the Library Board of Trustees and provide
a stream of revenue into the Departmental Gift Fund through the sale of
books.
The
MOU does require the Friends to maintain financial records and to
comply with open record requirements. I do not believe the Friends
groups conduct audits. Additionally, their reporting practices are not
consistent among different branches
and they do not adhere to a single set of best practices. Because the
Friends’ mission involves County assets (books) and funds flowing into
Departmental Gift Fund, any comprehensive fiscal audit would require a
review of both the Friends organizations as
well as the Gift Fund, which is what the Board of Supervisors has
directed.
I can assure you that the Board of
Supervisors, in responding to the Federation’s request, was in no way
seeking retribution against the Friends groups. Our Board values the
service the Friends provide, and appreciates the significant
contributions
they make to the FCPL system. Having an independent review of both the
internal Gift Fund and funds held by the Friends groups will help us to
demonstrate accountability to the civic and homeowner associations that
have raised concerns.
The Office of Financial and Program
Audit (OFPA) is also known as the Auditor of the Board. The auditor’s
work program is approved by the Board of Supervisors and monitored by an
Audit Committee made up of four members of the Board of Supervisors
and two private citizens. All of the OFPA audit reports from 1998 to
the present can be found at
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/boardauditor/.
Meetings are held quarterly and open to the public. If you or your
readers have evidence of fraudulent activity involving the Departmental
Gift Fund, or any other
matter, you may report it to the Fairfax County Fraud Hotline at
703-787-3243.
To your concerns regarding budget cuts
to our Library System, I know you recognize the effect that the Great
Recession has had on our community. The Board of Supervisors has had to
make difficult decisions across the entire spectrum of
County services since 2008 as we’ve struggled to maintain quality
programs with less revenue. Recovery from the Recession is slower than
anyone expected. Like all County agencies, FCPL has been asked to hold
open vacancies and do more with less. I appreciate
and value the hard work and dedication of all Fairfax County employees,
and believe they all provide a wonderful service to Fairfax County.
Nationally, public libraries were on a
decade-long upswing in circulation and visits until the Great
Recession, when these two measurements peaked and have since declined,
according to a study by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Public library systems across the country have been faced with the same
challenges we face in Fairfax County. Still, in FY2013, the most recent
survey, customer satisfaction remained high at 96%.
I found your comparison to our
neighbor jurisdictions interesting. Looking at the Montgomery County
library budget, I see it receives between $4,000,000 and over $5,000,000
annually in state funding for its library system while Fairfax
County has received $532,949 each year for the past two years. I also
noticed that their annual per capita circulation rate is well below
Fairfax County’s despite having a larger per capita budget.
In Prince George’s County, state aid
to its library system in FY2015 was more than $6.7 million and accounted
for 25.5% of its entire budget. Similarly, their circulation per capita
rate (6.05) in 2013 is far lower than Fairfax County’s
despite having a larger per capita budget. While I am hesitant to
compare Prince William County to Fairfax due to the large difference in
population, I will point out that their system also has a far lower
circulation rate (around 8.2 in 2013) than Fairfax
County despite having a larger per capita budget.
With regard to the collection,
following my Board Matter in September 2013, FCPL staff adopted new
discard procedures. The changes included independent decision-making at
the branch level with a documentation process for noting the reason
for the discard. The new process includes multiple levels of review
and, after they are withdrawn, materials are offered to the Friends of
the Library Groups.
Library materials declined by the
Friends go to the Department of Purchasing and Supply Management through
the county surplus property and disposal process. In January 2014 FCPL
began generating discard reports by type: condition, accuracy,
demand, magazines/newspapers and leased material.
Library administration believes that
“Floating” our collection will continue to assist with lowering our
discard numbers, since it is customer driven and library materials goes
to where they are in demand, giving the material new life versus
being discarded. Details on these changes can be found at
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/news/floatingcollectionstimeline.pdf.
While there is no question that the
library collection does not look the same as it did 10 years ago, you
may be interested to know that since FY2006, FCPL has added over
2,742,569 physical items and also provides access to over 1 million
online resources. Since 2007 Fairfax County has opened, equipped and
staffed three new libraries, Burke Centre (2008), City of Fairfax
(2008), Oakton (2007), and has completed renovations on Dolley Madison
(2011), Martha Washington (2010), Richard Byrd (2010)
and Thomas Jefferson (2010) and is scheduled to complete the renovation
of Woodrow Wilson in 2015.
Lastly, regarding the decision by a
branch manager to limit the hours of the second floor at Sherwood
Regional Library, I have spoken with Library Director Sam Clay and
understand that this is being worked out.
Thanks
so much for the opportunity to respond to the concerns you have raised.
I, too, am hopeful that our economy will begin to improve and that we
are able to more fully invest in all County services. Fairfax County is
the best place
to live, work, play and raise a family, and I remain committed to
keeping it that way.
Sincerely,
Sharon Bulova
CC: Members, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
Members, Fairfax County Library Board of Trustees
Ed Long, County Executive
Dave Molchany, Deputy County Executive
Tony Castrilli, Director, Office of Public Affairs
Claudia Arko, Legislative Director (for distribution to General Assembly members)
Tom Jackman, Washington Post
Karen Goff, Reston Now
Ellie Ashford, Annandale Blog
Tim Thompson, President, Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations
Kathy Kaplan, Library Chair, Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations
Charles Keener
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