November 6, 2007
Prop D: Take a Look, It's In A Book!
Proposition D is a library bond initiative. Let's be clear: we love the public library. Sure, the main building is a little weird looking and they've been restoring it for two years and it functions as a daytime homeless shelter, but...everything in there is free, and if you are trying to find something, the staff knows pretty much everything. The city library is a fantastic resource, and functions a heckuva lot better than, oh, say, MUNI (until Prop A passes, of course!). This initiative addresses the funding for the Library Preservation Fund by diverting some money from property taxes and giving the SFPL the ability to issue bonds.
We're leery of blank-check bonds and the proposition's license to borrow in a kind of indefinite manner, but how many other things on the ballot have the support of the Mayor and the entire Board? If both Ross and Gavin get together on something, it can't be all bad, right? There's probably a better way to do this (there are three more city elections until the Preservation Fund expires in 2009), but will another ballot measure actually pass? Will people get sick of the library and just vote "no" out of exhaustion if more measures come to the ballot?
That's the conundrum. We'll probably vote yes, just because most of the right people seem to be for it.
Image credit: sfgov.org
|
The way the entire SFPL system is managed is a scam. Funds have been greatly increased in the last 15 years, while operating hours have hardly expanded and the collection has actually become smaller. There's no reason to reward bad management by increasing or even extending the set-aside for libraries. The SFPL can get in line with the rest of the budget items, instead of being specially privileged.
That may very well be true.
But as I was standing there in the voting booth, my 8 year-old self couldn't shake the memory of Captain O.G. Readmore.
I voted YES on Prop D and encourage other to do so too. I grew up in libararies and the San Francisco Public Library system is wonderful. Wither I'm checking out music from the main library or taking a nice bike ride down to the astounding Mission Bay Branch to read on the patio, I always am content there. Sorry the JWB doesnt feel the same way.
jwb, you are mistaking prop d for prop a.
;)
I love it when people complain about how poorly public institutions are run, and then suggest cutting funding as a remedy.
vote yes on d.
seriously, the administration of the library is new and working very very hard to ensure that every branch gets renovated.
do we want to be a city in which the marina gets a beautiful, sparkly renovated library and the bayview gets squat?
and the proposition is NOT a blank-check. it doesn't just let the library borrow money and sell bonds willy-nilly; it's only after board of supervisors and mayoral approval. do we really want to vote every time the library wants to sell a bond? really?
finally, the money that is "set aside" for the library is .025% of property taxes. and it would ensure the same amount of books, the same amount of library hours and the same amount of staff as we have now. it's not an increase (although that would hopefully be approved through the budget), but it's just ensuring that if times get tough, the library isn't the first thing to lose funding.
also, jwb, check your facts:
service hours/week:
pre-1994 library preservation fund: 801
2007: 1224 (that's an increase of 53%)
circulation:
pre-1994 library preservation fund: 3,093,941
2007: 7,685,892
I love the idea of better funding for the libraries. Honestly I've never been to libraries as bad as the ones in the city. Where I grew up in Kansas City my elementary school had a library five to six times larger than most of the branches I've been in. Hell, my father's personal library is larger than the Oceanview branch!
That said, I voted against D. It really does seem like it's far too open to be passed as currently written. Library hours are terrible (until very recently my local branch was barely open 5 hours a day 5 days a week), collections are minimal and the library keeps throwing money away. They haven't finished what they've promised to do with the money already allocated to them and the renovations don't always seem to be doing a hell of a lot even when they are done.
Extending the fund is fine, but this also throws in the unnecessary ability for them to authorize their own bond issues. Something that really ought to be individually approved by the voters each time.
Likewise the requirements for maintaining hours and collections budget is seriously lacking. They only need to maintain hours system-wide which means they'll probably just throw them into the main library or neighborhoods where they've decided to make an effort and continue to shaft other neighborhoods. Likewise when they do have the option of changing hours they won't be running meetings based on the branch, but the entire supervisorial district a move that can't possibly help in any way.
I use the library all the time. I've got two books out from there right now and I stop in almost every other week or so to pick up new books (which, due to crappy collections, always have to be ordered). D just doesn't look like a good solution to actually improving the libraries.
Nevertheless I expect it'll probably pass because it's easy to say "Save the library!" and make people vote for it without actually looking into the issue or reading the proposition at all. Much like how despite the many problems prop A will almost assuredly pass because it promises to improve Muni (hey, I voted for it too so I'm just as guilty as everyone else) even though it should be revised due to it's many, many, many, problems.
I voted Yes. I love the library system where I can reserve books online and have them delivered to my neighborhood branch.
However, along with increased funding should come increased HOURS. Libraries should be open 7 days a week, from 9-9 at a minimum.
they just opened our new mission bay branch on sunday's and it was a big hit. a dozen folks were in line to get in. i was most concerned with the homeless taking over this new branch but they seem to be staying away for the most part. do they homeless get library cards too?