The Fresno County Board of Supervisors was expected to review a report on library privatization from County Administrative Officer Paul Nerland on October 20. Supervisor Garry Bredefeld asked for the report toward the end of a board meeting on June 2, where the board addressed a budgetary shortfall of about $300 million.
However, at the September 22 Board of Supervisors meeting, Nerland was directed to instead send the information to the officers as a Board Briefing Report that will be available to the public online.
FCPL: More than Just Books
The FCPL was founded 134 years ago when the first branch opened on February 1, 1892. There are currently 34 branches, including those in small communities like Kerman, Kingsburg, Yokuts Valley, Shaver Lake, Riverdale and Orange Cove.
In many of these small communities, the library offers essential services community members would not be able to obtain otherwise. For example, in Orange Cove and Riverdale, there is no Fed Ex Office, so if you need to run copies of your small restaurant’s menus or if you need to print your resume, the library is the only place available to do that.
Libraries are able to provide these services, among others, through Measure B, which is an eighth of a cent sales tax. The measure was overwhelmingly approved by Fresno County voters. Libraries also receive part of the property tax residents pay. Between those two taxes, 97% of the library’s budget is funded.
These taxes also help pay for library staff, extended hours and capital improvements (like the remodeling of the Selma and Sanger branches). They have made new branches in Clovis and Reedley possible, paid for the Fig Garden expansion and are paying for the Leo Politi branch to move to a much larger location that is long overdue for that community.
What do libraries give to the community? More than just books. Examples of services the provided to the public: free audio books; streaming of television shows and movies for free; passes for California State Parks; seed libraries at the Clovis and West Fresno branches; the ability to check out a telescope; the genealogy and local history library; and a veteran’s resource center. The libraries also offer classes and shows for people of all ages, including jazz performances, the bubble man, fossil presentations, story time, yoga, crochet classes and other arts and crafts.
Additionally, the San Joaquin Valley Library System (“SJVLS”) is a consortium of libraries from Merced to Kern Counties. The network of libraries shares their collections, so if you request a book that is not available in Fresno County but is in Tulare County, the book can be shipped to you, free of charge.
The streaming and internet services are also shared through SJVLS. The heavy lifting of SJVLS—transporting of books and maintenance of the internet—are handled by Fresno County. This service plays an exceptionally vital role in how our libraries operate together in these counties.
FCPL: Bredefeld’s Scapegoat for the Budgetary Shortfall
Bredefeld is misleading the community when he says that the FCPL is going to be the source of the county’s looming budgetary shortfall.
In reality, the shortfall is coming from implementation of the current federal administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which aims to drastically cut public services.
For example, 25 percent of the general fund is allocated to “justice services,” which includes the courts and the sheriff’s department. Additionally, 63 percent of the county’s human services budget (social workers, benefits workers, etc.) comes from the general fund and from funding from the federal government.
Do you know what doesn’t come from the general fund and isn’t affected by the Big Beautiful Bill? Library funding. However, libraries are the first target for Bredefeld.
Envisioning the Library System Under Privatization
Maryland-based Libraries Systems and Services (LSS) is the primary for-profit company that runs libraries. So how does LSS turn a public service into a profit-motivated industry?
The first thing LSS will do if they receive a contract from Fresno County is fire all of the current library staff—well they have to either reapply for their jobs, usually at lower rate of pay and with inferior benefits (if they give you enough hours to receive benefits), or leave.
The second thing LSS will do is diminish the collections. They will order books that you could get if you walked into Barnes and Noble or looked at the New York Times bestseller lists, but they will stop ordering books that aren’t popular.
They will stop ordering collections in languages that are not English. For example, in Jackson County, Oregon, LSS stopped ordering Spanish language books. The San Joaquin Valley has a large non-English speaking population; whether that be Spanish, Hindi, Punjabi or Hmong, the library will no longer order books for these members of our community.
Third, programming will all but disappear or LSS will approach the Friends of the Fresno County Public Library (FOL) to pay for programming.
The purpose of the FOL is to support libraries by purchasing supplies and paying for programming that is not in the library’s budget. With LSS, there will be no budget for programming and responsibility will fall on the FOL.
Finally, SJVLS will disappear. This doesn’t just affect Fresno County, it affects every county between Merced and Kern. The interlibrary loan service will stop because the vehicles are driven by Fresno County employees, and LSS won’t spend money to keep it operable.
Conclusion
The government exists to serve us, not the other way around. Privatizing a service that was never meant to provide revenue or turn a profit, is a fiscally unsound idea. Additionally, there are legal questions Garry Bredefeld and the board have not asked that need to be answered.
For example, if LSS takes over, can it receive Measure B funds? Most tax measures require strict oversight and disclosure of expenditures. LSS is not subject to the Public Records Act or the Freedom of Information Act and has a history of hiding its budgets.
Also, if Measure B sundowns and is no longer available, will the county be on the hook for the cost of the LSS contract? This would ultimately increase the county’s expenditures on the library rather than decreasing it.
Right now, there are more questions than answers. Please make your voice is heard and oppose the privatization of the library. Not every service needs to be for profit.
