Libraries facing
new budget cuts

Supporters came by the dozens
to testify as the BOE approved
proposals that include ending
the Bookmobile

By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

On Molokai, fewer people would visit or use the island's only public library, which may not be cleaned as often.

In Ewa Beach, beginning school-age readers would find it harder to get access to books.

On Maui, jail inmates would have less to read and more unoccupied time on their hands without Bookmobile service.

In Waialua, patrons might not be able to get hard-to-find books from other libraries if proposed budget cuts materialize.

"I'm afraid the cuts target rural libraries in general," Waialua library volunteer Larry Zuber said.

Waialua Public Library branch manager Tim Littlejohn said the library is the center of community activity, especially for youngsters who turn to libraries as a safe place to go after school. "We'd like to foster a positive learning environment."

Dozens of supporters of rural libraries submitted written testimony and turned out in person to voice their concerns about the proposed cuts to the Hawaii State Public Library System's budget.

Reducing the hours libraries stay open, eliminating positions and doing away with Bookmobile service are part of the library system's proposal to meet Gov. Ben Cayetano's demand for departmental cost-cutting.

"It is our belief that continued cutbacks ... will lead to decreased use and relevance of public libraries in the state," State Librarian Virginia Lowell said.

Cayetano has asked all departments to come up with ways to reduce state spending because of projections that show expenditures surpassing revenues.

FIRST LOSS: STAFF Hawaii State Public Library System budget for current fiscal year: $19,617,274 Target budget reduction set by governor for the current fiscal year: $391,321 to $782,789 PROPOSED CUTS To help meet targets, the library system proposes: Eliminating all emergency hires: $220,636 Eliminating all Bookmobile driver positions and Bookmobile services: $110,939 Reducing student hires and substitutes: $415,485 TOTAL: $747,060

Meeting last night in the Pearl City Public Library, board members voted to accept the recommendations by Lowell on how the library system plans to meet Cayetano's request.

They also sent a message to the governor and Legislature that they strongly opposed any further reduction of the library system's budget and that they would fight to keep it intact. "The cuts must not take place," board member Mike Victorino of Maui said.

The board also approved state Schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu's recommendation of where to cut up to $7.4 million this year and a maximum of $13 million next year in the Department of Education's $820 million budget, while also voicing strong opposition to cuts in that budget.

Board member Herbert Watanabe said these cuts, coupled with projected shortfalls in the DOE budget, actually translate into a minimum of $17 million in cuts the first year and $30 million the next. "That's the danger," Watanabe said.

LeMahieu said that in order to come up with the necessary figures for the governor, a number of programs are being proposed for cuts, some which amount to "vital lifeblood" for the schools.

But it was supporters of public libraries who turned out to register their concerns about what the proposed cuts will do to a system already struggling to survive cuts of 20 percent in staffing and 25 percent of its 1995 budget.

Positions are prime targets for cuts. "As soon as you eliminate staff, you eliminate the ability to support the public services," Lowell said.

Eliminating emergency hires -- those who are filling in position vacancies on an emergency basis -- would save $220,636, and eliminating the positions in the Bookmobile service would amount to $110,939 in cost cutting. Reducing the number of substitutes and student hires would equal $415,485 in savings.