Op-Ed: Let's Have a Dialogue on Library Changes, Sharon Bulova, Annandale Patch, August 24, 2013

Caught trying quietly to decimate the FCPL library system, Chairman Bulova tries to save face and the "BETA PROJECT" by talking about it instead of just ramming it into place.  

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova says she will ask county library board to delay beta testing, but also wants citizens to chime in on proposed changes.

By Sharon Bulova

Throughout the year, I am asked to give brief “State of the County” speeches to civic associations, business groups and other community organizations. When I list Fairfax County’s greatest assets I always include Fairfax County’s top-tier library system.

Not only are our libraries places for the pursuit of knowledge and information, but they also bring us together around a range of community and educational opportunities. Parents bring their children to Storytime and other children’s programs. Students use the library for research, tutoring and homework. Some residents rely on the library as their only Internet access portal. Many simply use the libraries to check out a good book. No matter how we choose to use them, in Fairfax County we value our libraries. . .

(Blah, blah, blah...)

While there is a great deal of confusion and miscommunication surrounding this proposed re-organization, community members have expressed legitimate concerns regarding some of the changes.

I believe it is crucial that library staff and patrons are at the table to discuss this proposal and provide their perspective. This dialogue is essential to discern what changes will best improve our libraries both for the present and in the long-run.

At our next Board Meeting on Sept. 10, I will be joining several of my colleagues in asking the Library Board and Staff to delay implementation of the "beta testing" they are doing to make sure sufficient community and workforce engagement is included in the consideration of changes.

If you are a regular library user, or feel strongly about continuing to have a successful library system, I encourage you to attend the Library Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. at George Mason Regional Library. . . .

Click here for the rest of this Op-Ed. 

You be the judge of how hypocritical it is for Chairman Bulova to, on the one hand, "value our libraries" and, on the other, characterize them as "not a core responsibility of the County."

Guest Commentary: Proposed Degradation of Fairfax County Public Libraries, Mary Vavrina, Falls Church News-Press, August 22, 2013

The following is the full text of Ms. Vavrina's excellent commentary on the proposed restructuring of the County's libraries as presented at the Falls Church News-Press website. 

Mark September 11, 2013 on your calendars. That is the date the Fairfax County Public Libraries (FCPL) Board of Trustees will meet and vote on the FCPL Administration’s “BETA Project” to “streamline” services at all county libraries. If approved the “BETA Project” is scheduled to go into effect initially at Reston Regional Library, the system’s largest, and Burke Centre Community Library. The changes include, but are not limited to:

•   Drastically reducing the number of staff available to serve library patrons

•   Eliminating the requirement for ANY staff member to have a Masters of Library Science (MLS) Degree

•   Eliminating children/youth services librarians

Reduction in Staff– At Reston, the model for regional libraries like Tysons-Pimmit, the staff will be reduced from 20.5 to 13.5 positions and at Burke Centre, the model for community libraries like Thomas Jefferson, it will be reduced from 9.5 to 7 positions.

Elimination of MLS– Not only will the staff be reduced, but so will their pay grades and salaries. FCPL will be the only library system in the regional consortium of libraries not requiring any staff member to have an MLS. Librarian positions will no longer exist, because under Virginia law, librarians must have an MLS/advanced certification for any political subdivision with a population of at least 15,000. They will be replaced by “library customer service specialists.” Even the most senior “specialist” – Level V, the Branch Manager – would not need an MLS and accordingly like all the other positions will be downgraded at least two pay grade levels. A Bachelor’s Degree (four years of college) is the highest educational level required; some positions will only require experience/education/training equivalent to two years of college.

Elimination of Children/Youth Services Librarians– The BETA Project will eliminate dedicated children/youth services librarians, persons with specialized educational training and expertise in developing programs and working with children and teens. Such librarians are an extension of the school system and their expertise is especially important in Virginia where many children are home schooled. The BETA Project calls for changing the children/youth services librarians into “programmers,” who will be out of their libraries much of the time providing programs for ages from cradle to grave, as only eight hours of their 40-hour work week must be spent in their home library.

These proposed changes are on top of disproportionate, draconian cuts, to FCPL’s budget since 2009. In FY 2010, FCPL’s budget was reduced by 15 percent; virtually all of the FCPL exempt part-time staff (meaning they did not get county employee benefits) was lost; and FCPL hours of operations were reduced 19 percent. In FY 2011, FCPL’s budget was reduced an additional 6 percent, with resulting loss of staff and reduction in operating hours by 9 percent.

While Fairfax County is retrenching, D.C. is hiring 100+ new library staff. The Library Journal recognized both Arlington County and Falls Church City Libraries as Star Libraries in 2012. FCPL didn’t even make the list even though we are one of the richest counties in the nation.

Contrast Falls Church City’s approach in planning a major expansion in its library system to the way FCPL developed the BETA Project. Falls Church hired a highly respected library consulting firm that conducted extensive community research, as well as a vast number of public focus groups and online surveys before submitting an impartial and thorough proposal to their Library Board of Trustees. In Fairfax County, the FCPL Administrative team developed and began implementing changes unilaterally without consulting outside experts or gathering public or staff input – an abuse of taxpayers’ trust. It is interesting to note that FCPL’s strategic plan indicates that the Administration worked with a consultant [unnamed] and analyzed customer and staff surveys, as well as other statistical data in developing their plan; however, the Friends of the Library (Friends) are unaware of such surveys and were not consulted.

The Administration is determined to test its service delivery model at the system’s busiest library, including closing the children’s desk, purely as a cost-cutting measure without consideration of the patrons’ needs/wishes and the impact on the quality of services rendered. Once the changes are made at Reston, they will be permanent, even if proved to be unworkable. The bell cannot be un-rung. Such back door maneuvering should not be condoned by taxpayers.

Libraries are the heart of the community and an indispensable resource for county residents. Attend the Board meeting. Join the Friends and others in asking for a delay to allow for public meetings to provide input on the future of library services.

Fairfax County Library Facts, Terry Maynard, Reston Patch, August 23, 2013

Terry Maynard posted this article on his Reston Patch blog, "Thinking Things Reston."  It is reproduced below in its entirety. 

In a statement published in Reston Patch and other local newspapers, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins called on the public to “take another look at the facts.”

Let’s do that.

Supervisor Hudgins states:  “The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has not approved any changes in library services. Yes, there are ideas and possibilities being circulated but that is all.”

That is not what the FY2014 budget says.  It says:  “. . . the Board approved a proposal to accelerate planned organizational efficiencies originally intended for FY 2015 to generate an additional countywide savings of $1.0 million in FY 2014.”  That sure sounds like it approved the “beta project” now being readied for test implementation on Reston and Burke libraries.  In fact, it appears the Board has not only approved the library restructuring, but is trying to ram the “planned organizational efficiencies” into the library system as quickly as possible. 

And where was Supervisor Hudgins in this process?  In an April 23, 2013, Hunter Mill Highlights e-blast from Supervisor Hudgins states,

“Supervisor Hudgins championed/helped usher the following items through the budget negotiations and approval process:

• Accelerated planned organizational efficiencies to generate savings including the reorganization in the School Age Child Care (SACC) program, library services and other programs. “ (p.2)

The FY2014 cuts are only the latest action by the Board to erode the capabilities of a once-great public library system.  The Board has been cutting the library’s budget for years. 

The library budget peaked in FY2007 ($33.8 million) in both nominal and real terms, and staffing (FTE/SYE) peaked a year later (485/457).   Through 2012, nominal spending has been cut more than 25% and constant dollar spending cuts have reached 32%.  The number of positions (FTE) has been cut 15% and staff years 12% in the same timeframe.  That means on a per capita basis:

• The remaining library staff workload has increased 24% on a staff year (SYE) basis and 30% on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis.

• Spending per capita has dropped 32% on a current dollar basis, 38% on a real dollar basis.

These cuts have had consequences, especially with the 14% budget cut in 2011.  The impacts of more recent cuts have not been recorded in the budget for some inexplicable reason.  County library budget data shows that, on a per capita basis from 2007-2012:

• “Contacts”—the broadest measure of library service to the community—are down two percent and registered users declined by seven percent.

• Library visits are down 11%.

• Circulation is down six percent.

• Even library website page views are down 31% as the library tries to move into the digital age.

And the adopted FY2014 budget cuts the library systems operating budget another eleven percent.  The budget reflects the following impacts from those cuts

• An 11% cut ($374,237) in “materials acquisition.” “This reduction will result in fewer titles and copies being available to library users.  .  . This reduction will widen the gap for the materials allocation from FY 2000 to FY 2013 which is currently at approximately 50 percent. . . .”

• A $275,000 cut in staffing requirements.  This follows a $324,359 cut in staffing in FY2013, which a County budget document states is, “inhibiting the agency's ability to redirect positions to customer service activities.  Further, vacant positions may need to be held open, causing customers to experience longer lines and other delays in services system-wide.”

All this came after a $1.8 million and 54 position cut in FCPL’s budget in 2011.  Here is what the County had to say about that cut:

This reduction impacts customers and employees by offering fewer hours of service at both regional and community libraries; less equipment troubleshooting;  fewer youth and adult programs (dependent on the new hours at each library); and a shorter summer reading program.  In addition, customers will need to learn new hours of operation among the various types of libraries and find alternate meeting sites.  As part of Library Access Services, approximately 300 disabled customers will not be able to order library books for home delivery via USPS (they will have to physically visit a library to pick up books); and 35 deposit sites at senior living facilities, nursing homes and adult care centers will no longer receive rotating collections of library books.  Full-time employees will be required to work every Saturday and/or two evenings per week.  The reduction of service hours and the elimination of positions will reduce the number of customers served and challenge overall customer satisfaction. 

That followed a $5.7 million and 32 position cut in the FCPL budget for FY2010 vs. FY2009 with a list of capability and service cuts too long to list.  And so it has gone for a half-dozen years.

So those are the facts as written in official County budget documents.  They reflect a series of decisions by the Board, including the apparent regular “yea” vote of Supervisor Hudgins, to cut library service in Fairfax County and Reston going back to 2007.  It’s not something new, and the Board has approved all the cuts.  It is much more than “ideas and possibilities.”  It is lost budget dollars, library capabilities, and skills and experience.  And with that, library users are disappearing too.

If you find these facts unsettling, I encourage you to continue to express your grave concern over the decimation of the County’s library resources and staff by communicating with the Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Hudgins, and the FCPL Library Trustees.  Please also sign the e-petition calling for a pause and reconsideration in the implementation of the “beta project” scheduled for Reston Regional Library and Burke this autumn. 

Thank you for listening to these facts, and acting accordingly.

"Toll roads are a lot like cockroaches . . ."

Only an Aussie could put it as straightforwardly and humorously as journalist Stan Denham does in this Australian news.com article.  His views are very much like those of us who have been subject to the same experience in Reston---and look forward to huge toll increases on the Dulles Toll Road (to pay for a railroad no less) and the possibility of tolls on Fairfax County Parkway.  Here is how Mr. Denham begins:

TOLL roads are the talk of town in Adelaide at the moment with calls for a fee to use the Northern Connector but, for the uninitiated, here's something to ponder.

Toll roads are a lot like cockroaches and cane toads: they sneak in and set up home when you're not looking, they never go away, and they multiply. This is a family newspaper, so I'll provide dollar figures rather than opinions, then you can be the judge.

Bitter experience is a great teacher. I grew up in Sydney and have mostly driven to work over the Harbour Bridge. The cost of a southbound trip back in the '70s and '80s was a very reasonable 20 cents, probably about a dollar in today's money, which went towards the cost of paying it off (from memory, motorbikes got away for 5c).

When that milestone was reached in 1988, and when we thought we'd finally be using it for free, some bright spark in the Greiner Liberal government realised it was still a good way to make an easy quid, so they jacked up the charge to a buck to help pay for the Harbour Tunnel, a private-public partnership.

Of course, the tolls kept rising as costs blew out and when the tunnel finally opened in 1992, they had to make the crossing charges - over or under - the same to stop rat-runners clogging up the bridge and taking money from the tunnel operators. . . .

Click here to read the rest of this bang-on article.  Enjoy--and take the point!

Letter: The Danger in the Reston Master Plan Proposal, Reston Patch, August 20, 2013

Dear Fellow Restonians,

As RCA’s representative to the Reston master planning task force, I want to bring you up to date on this four-year effort that is nearing a destructive result for Restonians’ quality of life in December.

RCA has been an active and positive contributor to the Reston master planning process since its beginning, and enthusiastic about the vibrancy urbanizing the Dulles Corridor could bring to Reston.  We have participated in every meeting.  Through RCA’s Reston 2020 Committee, we have presented more than a dozen well-researched studies for the task force on planning topics we believe are important.  And we have met with County staff along the way.  Presenting the goals and concerns of Reston’s citizens has been challenging, but we have done so in good faith in the belief that the right Comprehensive Plan would serve Reston well.

Last November, the task force arrived at a development scenario—“Scenario G”—that appeared to dis-satisfy everyone about equally.  It would not allow as much development as developers would like, especially office space, yet it offered only 5% less overall density than the previous lead scenario (“Scenario E”).  We believe the scenario still puts too much emphasis on traffic generating office space and does not address phasing issues (matching development with infrastructure improvements) generated by 40,000 new residents and 30,000 new employees.

Over last winter, County staff conducted a series of “impact analyses,” assessing what the population and workforce growth would mean for Reston.  The results on issues of concern to Restonians were not surprising, but are of deep concern:

• We will need one, possibly two, new elementary schools in the Metro station areas, according to FCPS.  We will also need an intermediate and high school, probably located near Rt. 28 where even greater growth is planned.  The implication is that upper school boundaries in Reston will shift westward.
• We will require more than 100 acres for additional parks and recreation facilities, largely playing fields, to meet station area growth needs according to FCPA, even against the low expectations of the County’s Urban Parks Framework.   (You may read our critique of the framework in our response to the third draft of the Reston Comprehensive Plan.  The County responded that it thinks its framework is fine.)  The latest draft infers that Reston Association should shoulder the space and facilities burden, not the station areas despite the fact that the Urban Parks Framework includes, “urban scale parkland integrated into developments….”  
• The huge traffic increases at gateway intersections along the Corridor would mean average rush-hour delays up to four minutes at each intersection according to FCDOT.  While some roadway improvements could be added, most potential Plan relief from gridlock would come from shifting people to buses, walking, and biking, as well as traffic demand management (TDM) techniques that limit parking and driving in the station areas.

This spring, County staff began to draft the Comprehensive Plan guided by Scenario G and the impact analyses.  The initial drafts addressed overarching guidance for the Reston community, including the vision and planning principles the task force agreed upon two years ago.

Then things went downhill.  By the fifth and first complete draft plan (103 pages), presented to the task force three weeks ago, the draft language was so bad that RCA decided to make a strong statement critiquing it at last week’s  task force meeting.  The following is from that four-page statement:

. . . At this point the draft language has no spine or muscle to achieve the goals and limits it professes.  

• The latest draft, even more than its predecessors, includes numerous weasel words and phrases that undermine achievement of the planning goals of Scenario G, such as extending the TOD walking distance by five minutes in direct contradiction of County TOD policy.  
• It omits or minimizes vital details for critical planning elements, such as phasing, implementation, financing, and incorporating parks and recreation to serve future residents and employees in the transit station areas.  
• It overlooks opportunities that would serve the longer term development of the station areas, including moving now to acquire air rights along the Dulles corridor and calling for a recreation center in one of the station areas.
• It generally calls upon the current Reston community, and specifically Reston Association, to provide space and financing for amenities that serve station area residents and workers without any commitment that the new residents would become members of RA.  

The statement concludes, “. . . this draft plan states that what the developers and County have is theirs; what Reston has is negotiable if not outright takable.”   It states that RCA will be unlikely to support this plan and that it will seek community support in improving it.

I ask you to read RCA’s statement, our detailed critique of the latest draft, and even the latest plan draft.  The draft plan, if approved, will “guide” future development of Reston and is woefully inadequate in protecting the 60,000 people who live here.  The completed Comprehensive Plan draft is scheduled to go before the Planning Commission (plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov) on October 30 and the Board of Supervisors Board of Supervisors (bos@fairfaxcounty.gov) on December 5.

If you share our deep concern, we urge you to contact the County staff lead (Heidi.Merkel@fairfaxcounty.gov), task force chairman Patty Nicoson (dcra@dullescorridorrail.com), and even Supervisor Hudgins (hntrmill@fairfaxcounty.gov) with your thoughts now before this plan becomes our future.


Sincerely,
Terry Maynard
RCA Representative to the Reston Task Force
Member, RCA Board of Directors
Co-Chair, RCA Reston 2020 Committee

Video: Why Reston? SAIC COO Stu Shea talks Leidos HQ, Washington Business Journal, August 16, 2013

For the accompanying background article, click here. 

CoreNet: Office space per worker shrinks to 150 sf, Building Design & Construction, August 6, 2013

The average amount of space per office worker globally has dropped to 150 square feet or less, from 225 square feet in 2010, according to a recent global survey conducted by CoreNet Global, a leading association of corporate real estate managers at large companies throughout the world. The study is part of CoreNet Global's ongoing advocacy of quality working environments and work experiences, and the group's call to action to measure quality of life per square foot.

At the same time, companies in the survey indicated that employment levels will increase in the second half of 2013—triggering a "property paradox," in which more workers are using less individual space.

The survey underscores how today's increasing mix of workers in the office and teleworking, assigned to team and individual projects, along with the rapid emergence of space-on-demand, co-working and other 'third places,' is combining to enable the balance of less space per office worker while more jobs are added. . . .

Click here to read the full survey results summary.

There is nothing new in this to Reston 2020.  We have communicated this multi-year trend, local as well as global, to Chairman Bulova multiple times but, on the advice of C/DPZ Fred Selden, the County will continue to use 300 GSF as its development planning assumption.  If the County should be so lucky as to have demand for office space exceed even its rosy expectations, we could see up to twice as many office workers in Reston as the proposed plan assumes.  The impact on the jobs:housing balance would be huge and traffic gridlock would double--and we're already expecting four minute wait times at key intersections during rush hour.