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Budget cuts force shifts in library staffing, hours

Countywide, 15 assistants will replace 92 pages, and most libraries will open an hour later. The impact is not known yet.

By ROBBYN MITCHELL AND KAREN DAVISON Times Staff Writers
Published September 28, 2007

Jake Vigness stooped his lean body in front of the shelves and pushed a few books into a rack that was already quite full. He knew his days working at the Brandon Regional Library were drawing to a close.

Budget cuts are forcing the Tampa-Hillsborough County Library system to dismiss dozens of part-time pages like Vigness who sort, organize and shelve library books. Reduced hours and changed security policies are also in the works.

"I've applied for other jobs in the library system," said the 19-year-old Hillsborough Community College student, who lives in Brandon. But, he said, "I'm not going to drive into another city or across town."

The elimination of 92 part-time page positions - to be replaced after Oct. 1 by 15 library assistants - is the beginning of a four-part plan to save the library system $1-million as local governments prepare to lower property taxes.

While library officials hope the cuts will have minimal impact, it remains to be seen if service will suffer. At the Brandon branch last week, six people stood in line waiting to check out or to ask the one librarian behind the desk a question.

There were seven on staff, said Janet Molen, senior librarian. She was helping Vigness put books on the shelves.

At its height, the library had eight pages. But when the news came about the layoff in early summer, staffers began to search for work elsewhere.

Some tried the Temple Terrace Library, which enjoys some autonomy as it is run by the city of Temple Terrace.

But even at that library, money is tight and jobs are scarce. Beginning Oct. 1, the doors will open at 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m.

That's how it will be at most Hillsborough libraries, so the staff can shelve the books returned the night before. Library boosters fear that, despite the county's best efforts, some patrons will be disappointed.

"Two widely diverse groups will be hurt by this cutback in hours," said Bernadette Storck, president of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Friends of the Library.

First: Mothers who take their younger children to early morning story hour after dropping off their older children at school.

Second: Senior citizens who like to get out before the heat of the day.

Storck expects the biggest impact at larger and more popular branches, such as the Jan K. Platt branch in South Tampa. But no library will be spared completely.

"Staff members who would be manning the desk will be expected to shelve books early in the morning and then work with people coming in," Storck said. "Some of that is going to hurt."

Even before the announced cuts, volunteers and nonprofit organizations provided some of the staffing at busier libraries.

At the Jimmie B. Keel branch in Carrollwood, volunteers put bar codes on books, recase DVDs and perform a variety of other mundane but necessary functions in addition to raising money at a used-book store.

"Our volunteers provide great support," said Jean Peters, chief librarian who supervises Jimmie B. Keel and other branches in northern Hillsborough. "But they are a supplement to the staff and cannot replace paid staff members."

Some relief will come in October, when the library system hires full-time aides to replace some of the laid-off pages.

Jimmie B. Keel, with a circulation of 70,000 items per month, will hire one full-time worker to shelve books, a replacement for two of the eight 19-hour pages.

And, as always, librarians will help.

"The full-time staff always stepped in and filled the gap," Peters said.

The library, meanwhile, is looking for more efficient ways to move books from check-in to shelf. And the branch is continuing its association with AARP, which provides some paid labor through an on-the-job training program for older workers.

None of the current programs will change at Keel, said principal librarian Lauren Levy, other than moving a children's program from Wednesday to Monday and starting some of the others later.

The final components of the cost-cutting plan are to eliminate all extra phone lines and limit the use of off-duty police officers.

"We'll be installing silent alarms that will alert the police of a break-in," said Joe Stines, director of the county library system. "And the response should be just as fast if not faster." Panic buttons will be installed, and the staff will receive additional safety training.

The current budget cuts will not interrupt plans for replacement libraries in Seffner, North Tampa and Town 'N Country, officials say.

Other projects will need to be evaluated next year, especially if Florida voters approve a tax-reform measure that would force local government agencies to tighten their belts.

Should that happen, Stines said, "there would be severe cuts that the public would feel."

He urged taxpayers to "be aware of services that are important to them and let elected officials know."

[Last modified September 27, 2007, 08:27:21]