Proposal would restore Friday library hours in Stanislaus County

Stanislaus County libraries have been closed on Fridays since the dark days of the economic slump.

That will change in July if county supervisors approve a proposal Tuesday to open the 13 branches on Fridays. A five-year increase in the sales tax revenue that funds the libraries will cover the costs, officials said.

Starting July 8, the Friday hours would be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, Riverbank, Oakdale, Salida, Patterson, Newman and Waterford libraries; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Denair, Empire and Hughson branches; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Keyes library.

County Librarian Diane McDonnell said that restored Friday hours are a frequent request on customer comment cards.

“We have been gearing up for this in the past year,” McDonnell said. “We have been able to set aside library reserves, so if something happens to make our tax revenue take a dip next year, we have reserves to continue to offer Friday hours.”

About 87 percent of library funding comes from a  1/8 -cent countywide sales tax. The tax revenue fluctuates every year based on commercial sales activity; county leaders approved an action in April 2010 to close library doors on Fridays when the revenue declined.

Since then, the library revenue from the sales tax has increased an average of 5.5 percent a year, climbing from $6.9 million to an estimate of $9.6 million this year.

The libraries had a fund balance of more than $10 million as of last July, a county staff report says. Some of that additional revenue has been spent on hiring an outreach librarian, paid for library facility improvements and purchased books, materials, electronic resources and technology.

In the next budget year, the restored Friday hours would cost $623,600 for full- and part-time staff, security and janitorial service. A librarian and five assistant librarian positions were restored in the midyear budget to prepare for the increase in hours.

Wendy Scott, secretary of Friends of the Ceres Library, said many children are using the Ceres branch since a remodeling project was completed. “They told us at the meetings that attendance is up, so I am sure it will be the same on Fridays,” Scott said. “We have a lot of children’s programs, reading and craft projects.”

The plan for restoring hours would open the Ceres library two hours earlier on Saturday. The Modesto library would close an hour earlier, at 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and the Turlock branch would close at the same time Monday to Wednesday. The staff report says few people visit the Modesto and Turlock branches between 8 and 9 p.m.

Voters in Stanislaus County will be asked to approve another extension of the  1/8 -cent sales tax in June 2017. McDonnell said a survey of residents in November will ask their opinion on a possible 10-year extension of the library tax. An extension was last approved by voters in 2012 and it expires in June 2018.

This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Proposal would restore Friday library hours in Stanislaus County."