Photo by sheilaellen via Flickr.

The Los Angeles Public Library is under pressure from Mayor Villaraigosa and the City Council to cut spending and raise fees to help decrease LA's $400 million budget deficit. If the budget goes through unchanged on May 1, drastic cuts would force eight regional branch libraries to close their doors on Sundays, the book buying budget would be slashed by $2 million and library staff may be subject to “mandatory furlough days or reduced work weeks.”

The libraries targeted for close on Sundays are North Hollywood, Mid-Valley Regional, Arroyo Seco, West Los Angeles, Hollywood (Goldwyn Branch), Exposition Park, San Pedro and West Valley. The move would eliminate 36.5 staff positions. Book buying funds have already been reduced by 22% from last year and as a result these monies were tapped out four months early in 2008.

There is hope. Earlier this month, the organization SaveLAPL directed efforts for a successful e-mail campaign where 900 messages from concerned LA area residents went out to the mayor to protest a proposed $1 book transfer fee. As a result of the outpouring, the $1 fee was killed and replaced with a nickel increase to fines.

City Librarian Fontayne Holmes will address the City Council’s Budget & Finance Committee on May 1 where she will request that LAPL’s book budget be restored and regional branches remain open on Sunday to serve their communities. SaveLAPL is working hard with a new e-mail campaign to make the mayor and council aware of what an important resource our libraries are.

For those who send a protest email through the SaveLAPL website, an added incentive offers half price discounts for yourself and a friend on Esotouric’s Raymond Chandler bus tour this Saturday, May 3.