Library leader eyes major changes
Proposals at city sites include bilingual staffing, nixing late fees and more hours to address equity
The people behind Long Beach’s public library system are working to make their tools and services more accessible to underserved communities, but some solutions could require millions in funding.
That’s according to a recent memo from Library Services Director Glenda Williams, which expanded on how the system can become more equitable in response to a report from City Auditor Laura Doud that highlighted how the library system can better serve the ethnically and socioeconomically diverse communities that depend on it.
Williams’ June 10 memo focused on a handful of the 29 recommendations in the audit report at the request of the City Council.
One primary concern, according to the audit, is that 97% of the library’s programs and 95% of its materials were in English, despite nearly half of Long Beach’s population speaking a language other than English at home.
But the library system has prioritized hiring bilingual staff, who can select books and develop programs in languages other than English, Williams wrote. This year, for
example, the Library Services Department expects to fill four librarian vacancies, which will provide opportunities to hire more bilingual employees.
The library has also recently launched its Khmer search index feature to help members of the Cambodian community access books and resources in their native language.
The library also has conducted a diversity audit of the current collection, which looked into the authors, publishers, protagonists, settings and themes of its offerings, with a focus on representation of people who are Asian, Black, indigenous, Latino, Middle Eastern, Jewish, Muslim, LGBTQ and those who have disabilities. The topic of mental health was also included in the audit.
To provide more diverse programming across the city, Williams wrote, with a bilingual services division that could develop, implement and evaluate Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog programs, along with new materials, would be ideal. Such a division, she wrote, would likely cost $715,000 a year, which would include books, supplies and the equivalent of five fulltime staff members.
Another idea from Doud’s audit that Williams expanded on was eliminating late fees. The system has temporarily waived late fees during the coronavirus pandemic, but it has not permanently nixed them.
The American Library Association, Williams wrote, has urged all libraries to do away with late fees because they disproportionately impact communities of color. More than 100 public library systems across the country have done so.
The Chicago Public Library’s decision to eliminate late fees in 2019, Williams wrote, resulted in a 240% increase in the number of books returned. And the Salt Lake City Public Library reported a 16% increase in the number of items borrowed and an increase of 26,000 library cardholders a year after it did the same.
Williams wrote, however, that late fee revenue amounted to about $250,000 annually before the pandemic. The LongBeach Recovery Act, which the City Council passed earlier this year, provided the funding for the current late fee waivers, which will last a little more than a year. But Williams said in a Thursday email that she doesn’t have ideas for how to offset the loss of revenue on a permanent basis.
The most expensive idea she proposed was related to expanding library hours. All libraries are currently open Tuesdays through Saturdays, but adding service on Sundays and Mondays could help make the system more accessible, Doud found.
One of Williams’ suggestions for addressing that concern would cost $2.9 million for extra staffing; it would allow the Billie Jean King Main Library, the El Dorado Neighborhood Library, the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library and the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library to be open seven days a week, while the remaining eight library locations would keep their current hours.
Those four locations were chosen because, combined, they represent more than half of all library visitors, more than half of all borrowed items and more than 60% of computers, computer sessions and Family Learning Centers sessions systemwide.
Williams also presented three other budget-neutral options to expand hours in some locations. To offset the cost, other locations would need to reduce hours or even close permanently. Those three proposals are:
• Offer daily service at the four most used libraries and close the remaining eight locations, which would allow the city to find other ways to use those properties.
• Offer daily service at the Billie Jean King Main Library, the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library and the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library, while keeping the other locations open from Tuesdays through Thursdays.
• Expand hours at the previous three locations to be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays while closing three smaller locations.
Williams said in her Thursday email that the City Council would have to decide which three locations would close under the final scenario.
“I could make a recommendation based on locations in underserved and low income neighborhoods, library usage and other metrics,” she said. “In addition, some council districts have two libraries, so that is a consideration as well.”
Alternatively, keeping every location open, while also extending Tuesday-toThursday hours at the three sites listed in the final option, would require another $1.1 million to 1.4 million, Williams’ memo noted.
The library is conducting a survey about its services, which includes questions about customers’ preferences for hourly and daily availability. The survey closes Aug. 26.
Williams wrote that she will provide an analysis of the results to the City Council later this year, with options to make changes based on the community’s input.
“We look forward to the opportunity to implement the improvements recommended by the City Auditor and working to better service the LongBeach community within our current budget as we are able to do so,” Williams wrote, “while recognizing that some recommendations will require additional funding.”