FCFCA resolution calls for reversing major cuts in Fairfax County Public Library budget.

 

Library Budget Resolution for FY2017

 (Adopted by Board March 17, 2016)

BACKGROUND

The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations recommends a modest increase to the FY16 Library Advertised Budget to reverse the significant and disproportionate cuts sustained to the library since 2009.   Key priorities include investing in library employees, providing adequate staffing to engage the public and care for the materials collection, and to increase the physical holdings of the library in order to restore Fairfax County Public Library to a world-class facility.

WHEREAS, the federal ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) signed into law December 2015 declares public and school libraries to be essential for public education and worthy of support[1]; and

WHEREAS, the home schooling of children in Fairfax County saves the taxpayers in excess of $31M every year, and those children depend on public libraries to serve as their school libraries, budgeting for their educational library materials must be included in the library budget; and

WHEREAS, the Fairfax County Public Library has had its budget reduced to less than 1% (0.007) of the entire  $3.99B FY2016 County budget; and

WHEREAS, the County’s population and cost of living increases since 2004 necessitates a library budget increase in excess of $10 million to maintain services; and

WHEREAS, the proposed Advertised budget is inadequate to properly service and maintain current collection levels; and

WHEREAS, fourteen FTE (full time equivalent) circulation aide positions with budgeted funds to provide overtime were removed last year; and

WHEREAS, half the library page positions and their associated funding were removed in 2009; and

WHEREAS, library books are being discarded because of lack of adequate staff to shelve them; and

WHEREAS, the print collection has been and continues to be decimated by inappropriate culling with as many discards through the first six months of FY16 as the entire year of FY15 according to library documents provided to the Library Board; and

WHEREAS, the Library Board of Trustees requested an additional $2M to the FY2015 budget to support staff levels and replenish the nonfiction collection diminished by twelve years of excessive culling; and

WHEREAS, the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations included a request for an additional $2M in their library budget resolution for FY2015; and

THEREFORE, BE IT

1.  Resolved, that the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations requests that the Board of Supervisors add $2M to the FY2017 Advertised library budget; and be it further

2.  Resolved, that 14 FTE (full time equivalent) circulation aide positions eliminated in FY2016 and their budgeted funding be restored to avoid cutting library hours; and be it further

3.   Resolved,  that the library page positions eliminated in FY2009 and their budgeted funding be restored; and be it further

4.  Resolved, that appropriate measures to protect and maintain the print collection be enacted by the Board of Supervisors and the Library Board including the elimination of "grubby" lists, elimination of the 24-month low-demand review criteria and replacing it with American Library Association standard 60-month review criteria, allowing volunteers and library staff to mend lightly damaged books, and allowing donated books with less than four copies of each title be added to the library's print collection.

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[1] http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/advleg/federallegislation/ALA%20-%20ESEA%20Conference%20Overview%20%2811-30-15%29.pdf

http://www.districtdispatch.org/2015/12/significant-victory-for-libraries-as-president-signs-essa-into-law/

FCFCA Resolution on Preservation of Shelving Space post Renovation, October 29, 2015

The following resolution was approved by the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations (FCFCA) at its October 29, 2015, membership meeting. 

 

LIBRARY COLLECTION RESOLUTION:

Preservation of Shelving Space post Renovation

Approved by Federation Board, October 22, 2015

and Federation Membership, October 29, 2015

BACKGROUND:

During the past decade the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has been unwilling to provide an adequate materials budget to replace lost, worn out and inaccurate books for the Fairfax County Public Library.

In 2004 Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library had 175,000 books in its collection (from FCPL Materials Inventory).  The Tysons-Pimmit collection has been reduced since that year by harsh discard guidelines including the following:

• So-called "low demand" books are being purged with only 24 months of non-circulation (industry standard is 60 months).  This particularly affects books on art, music, history, religion, philosophy and biography;
• The collection was further reduced in preparation for "floating" the collection through the entire system;
• Next, the collection was reduced during the attempt to transition from print to digital following the 2012 Library Strategic Plan, including the massive dumping of books during the disastrous Beta Plan;
• Further loss has occurred due to the current mechanism of redistributing books that enables Technical Operations to discard books in good condition that are transferred away from branches with too many copies or low demand copies; 
• Finally, on orders from Collection Services all books that are not in pristine condition must be discarded, even when wear is extremely minimal.  The common and highly cost-effective procedure of mending slightly worn books is not encouraged.

As a result of all of this, Tysons-Pimmit has suffered a net loss of over 70,000 books.   That's 70,000 from one Branch alone. 

In 2004 Woodrow Wilson Library had a collection size of 87,000 holdings and after renovation currently holds only 46,851 books (July 2015 Collection Analysis).  Another 40,000 books lost.

Under the current renovation plans for Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, the FCPL Collection Manager has reduced the amount of shelving in floor plans so only enough linear feet of shelving for a maximum of 110,000 books will be accommodated after the renovation.  The amount of linear feet for shelving space for books currently in the Tysons-Pimmit library will be halved.  

Losses on this scale are occurring throughout the County.  Most at risk at the moment are those Branches undergoing or soon to undergo renovation, including Tysons-Pimmit, Reston, Pohick, John Marshall and Kingstowne. 

RESOLUTION:

WHEREAS Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations wishes to see branch collections restored and enhanced after a decade of loss,

WHEREAS the resulting crowding of books from reduced shelving would necessitate further weeding and more discards,

WHEREAS the current collection levels throughout the county locks branch collections into the smallest collection in their history,

WHEREAS reduction in linear feet of shelf space will not allow a collection room to grow,

WHEREAS a new library director may want to eliminate the floating collection that causes books to be irregularly distributed throughout the branches,

WHEREAS Fairfax County intends for the population of Fairfax County to grow substantially by 2030,

WHEREAS the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations desires a collection size beyond the bare minimum required by Virginia statute to provide for the growing Fairfax County population,

THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED:  The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations hereby requests that all future renovations and rebuild of county libraries have adequate linear feet of usable shelving space to house at least their historic highest collection levels

Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations calls for audit of County Library "System GIft Fund"