2 Supervisors Unveil Plan to Revamp 16 Libraries

Ventura County’s libraries should be placed in separate service areas that roughly correspond to the borders of the cities they serve, but the branches should have joint book purchasing and accounting services, according to a proposal unveiled Thursday night by members of a newly formed countywide library committee.

But the plan by county Supervisors Frank Schillo and Kathy Long fell mostly on deaf ears, as several cities boycotted the first meeting of the Ventura County Library Services Implementation Committee.

The committee was formed to oversee reorganization of the 16-branch county library system, but representatives from the cities of Ventura, Simi Valley and Camarillo have declined to participate because of questions over its authority. They did not attend Thursday’s meeting.

Officials from the three cities--home to the largest branch libraries, representing more than half of the county system’s visitors--said they do not want to start laying out reorganization plans only to have the Board of Supervisors overrule them. Instead, they said, they would each prefer to negotiate directly with the county to improve library services.

“Nobody can guarantee us as of today that a majority of the Board of Supervisors will approve the recommendations of the implementation committee,� Ventura Councilman Jim Friedman said. “So if that is the case, then the implementation committee is a waste of time.�

But Schillo said it is imperative for the cities to decide first what they want before going to the board with any specific recommendations. He said his proposal was simply intended to open discussion about formulating a rescue plan for the financially troubled library system.

“The board can’t approve anything until it knows what the cities want,� he said. “They have to be part of the decision-making process.�

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Schillo said he is opposed to negotiating separately with each of the cities in the library system, which also includes Ojai, Port Hueneme, Moorpark and Fillmore. Thousand Oaks, Oxnard and Santa Paula operate their own library systems.

“I’m definitely not in favor of separate discussions because then everybody gets nervous and nobody wants to do anything and you end up with 16 different decisions,� he said.

Despite the lack of participation in Thursday’s meeting, Schillo said he believes that the proposal he and Long have crafted is workable and would ultimately be approved by the cities.

Under the plan, the county’s 15 branch libraries would be divided up into individual “service areas� and would be supported by taxes already collected there. The service areas would share a city’s boundaries or that of a local school district, which may include nearby unincorporated communities. Some libraries in unincorporated communities, such as Saticoy, could continue to be operated by the county, according to the plan.

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The reorganization plan also calls for forming a Ventura County Library Purchasing Partnership, a consortium of service area members that would be used for joint training, book purchasing and accounting. Cities would also have the option of performing these tasks themselves or contracting for services, whichever is cheaper.

“The cities want responsibility, accountability and a say-so in what happens to their libraries,� Schillo said, “and I think this gives it to them.�

Although he agreed that the plan has merit, Port Hueneme Councilman Jonathan Sharkey said he is concerned that the larger cities have chosen not to participate in the committee or to even attend its meeting.

“I’m a little upset with the attitude that our bigger and more powerful neighbors are taking,� he said. “I’m upset with people playing hardball when we haven’t even delineated what the rules of the game are yet.�

The implementation committee agreed Thursday night to hold a second meeting Feb. 13 in Camarillo, and members said they hoped that representatives from Camarillo, Simi Valley and Ventura would attend.