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Unexpected library closure
updated: Dec 30, 2009, 8:12 PM

My daughter visiting from out-of-town took her three children to the central library Wednesday afternoon only to find it closed until January 2. I'd like to know if the library publicized this closure. I read the Daily Sound and Edhat every day and never saw anything about this. It sure would have been a nice public service to post some notices in the media.

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 51688	2009-12-30 08:21 PM
This happened to me right before Christmas and I was super frustrated too. They need to do a better job of notifying the public.
COMMENT 51690P	2009-12-30 08:47 PM
The closure of city offices, unpaid furloughs of employees, including those at the libraries, was quite well publicized, including on the library web site. Clearly, they needed to have done more. I stopped by the East Side library yesterday, knowing it was open, and saw how many young people were using the computers. Pity to have the libraries closed when the schools are closed. Perhaps there could be some sharing of school funds since the schools (and teachers) (and staff?) are on vacation?
EDONE	2009-12-30 08:50 PM
Here is the link to the city closure info provided prior to the furlough: link
COMMENT 51693	2009-12-30 08:52 PM
Well, based on that link, I'd say "open for certain days" constitutes not enough info. Surely they knew ahead of time what days those were going to be.
COMMENT 51696	2009-12-30 09:09 PM
They had the dates posted on the doors for at least 3 weeks prior.
COMMENT 51706	2009-12-30 10:52 PM
They were posted on the doors and on their website for quite a while, but I thought it was very poor timing to close during the vacations when kids would need/want them most, not to mention some of us adults who would like to read during our own time off. Who should we all complain to about choosing the libraries as a way to make up the city's deficit? This is one of the city's most undervalued resource.
COMMENT 51708P	2009-12-30 11:05 PM
Complain to the City Council. They're the ones who ultimately do the budget and therefore the furloughs. As for the libraries, I agree. The Council gives lip service or some council members, the newer ones, complain about those of us less fortunate (and more smelly) using the library. The library has got a small budget which is continually being whittled down. There seems to be a relative lack of interest: there was a vacancy on the Library Board --- but no one bothered to apply for it.
CHUCKER	2009-12-31 12:08 AM
Our Public Libraries serve many audiences and these audiences are in flux. Several years ago I'd spend mornings with my 3- year-old granddaughter in the Childrens Section of the downtown Library reading books and holding tight to a stuffed Curious George. Several weeks ago I saw a Library Monitor poke a man who had fallen asleep with his head on the table and she informed him that sleeping in the Library was not allowed. This morning I stopped by to see my grandkids and my 4-year-old grandson, in his PJ's, was comfy on the sofa with an iBook on his lap happily playing games and surfing the web. The Public Library system served my generation well and it still serves a purpose, but that purpose is obviously changing. Will it be a place of learning and inspiration, or will it become merely a place of refuge?
COMMENT 51716P	2009-12-31 06:51 AM
Glad that the monitors are enforcing the no sleep rule in the library. But libraries ARE places of refuge: refuge to the worlds of print, including, now, computer screen print. Refuge, too, from a cold outside. A place to bring one's own book (or, unfortunately, computer.) However, one segment of the population should not be allowed to drive out the others: if the library were filled with noisy children, many (most?) adults would abandon it. A library dominated by unwashed, dozing and non-reading adults drives away many (most?) other (and tax-paying) adults. The Art Museum next door is free on Sundays, yet its benches are not filled with those just seeking refuge from the outdoors. What do they at the Museum, publicly supported but not tax-payer supported, do to make it a welcome place for all? The libary board and administration should find out....
COMMENT 51718	2009-12-31 06:57 AM
You can hit some people over the head with a sign and they still will claim they never saw it. The furlough was well advertised, so why assume the library would be open? As for those commenters who think the library should get more funding - especially 51706 - are you a homeowner who bought years ago and now happily pay a pittance in property tax? You should be campaigning to roll back Prop 13, don't ya think?
COMMENT 51719P	2009-12-31 07:22 AM
Getting back to the original posting, the library was not designed as an entertainment center for out-of-town holiday visitors. It will be open again after the holidays. As for Prop 13, split the tax rolls and increase the taxes on office buildings and other commercial properties that have benefited and that are owned by corporations that never change ownership on paper even though they are bought and sold all the time - unlike the typical homeowner's setup.
COMMENT 51727	2009-12-31 07:49 AM
Not only were the signs posted, at the Montecito branch bookmarks with holiday hours were handed out well in advance. Also, if you look on the web site, http://www.sbplibrary.org/, all the branch hours are posted. Unfortnately, with budget cutbacks our libraries are suffering. If you are interested in seeing services maintained give a tax deductible contribution to the branch that serves you.
COMMENT 51751	2009-12-31 09:28 AM
In the spirit of holiday cheer, I mentioned to a Goleta librarian a few weeks ago that if they were going to be furloughed (remember, unpaid), at least they were getting time off when the employees would probably most appreciate it. She told me that traditionally the weeks around Christmas and New Year's are very slow at the library. (And by the way, the Goleta library, at least, has become a place of free after-school day care for young teens during the school year once GVJH lets out. I avoid it at those times.)
LUCKY 777	2009-12-31 09:56 AM
I stopped using the downtown library years ago when it became a sleeping dormitory for the Great Unwashed. I have never seen monitors poking the bums, but it would make a great difference if they did.
HATTIE	2009-12-31 10:45 AM
as long as we're talking about library issues, i can't help asking: whatever happened to the idea of the library as a quiet place so people could read or study in peace? librarians used to politely shush anyone who spoke above a whisper. now the library workers themselves talk loudly & never ask cell-phone gabbers, rowdy kids & other noisemakers to lower their volume. times sure have changed...
COMMENT 51968	2010-01-02 09:47 AM
The rules of conduct are posted in several places at the central library. Among them is the rule about "no sleeping" and also if your body odor (I think they euphemistically refer to it as "personal hygiene") is offensive or your behaviour is interfering with others' use of the library they can ask you to leave. I've seen library workers wake people up (I doubt they'd poke anyone, too dangerous) by speaking loudly or even dropping a book on a nearby table. But with the large number of people in the library and the ever dwindling number of people who work there, they can't police all the corners and seating areas all the time. I'm at the library quite a bit this year, and it does sometimes get to the point where the place seems overrun, like it is a warehouse for homeless with no place else to go and nothing to do. It's a problem, for them and for the rest of us who just want to go find a nice place to plug in our laptop or do paperwork.
COMMENT 52944	2010-01-11 02:40 AM
It will be great to watch Curious George, i have bought tickets from http://ticketfront.com/event/Curious_George-tickets looking forward to it.

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