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The county librarian, Jean Hofacket, on her own initiative and without public discussion, recently removed a large population area from the San Lorenzo Library service area and placed it in the service area of the Castro Valley Library. The area removed represents an estimated 10 percent of the tax base of the San Lorenzo Library.
She has claimed that this was necessary so that the service areas of the two libraries are consistent with the boundaries of new area land-use plans that are presently being completed. Last year some residents of hillside neighborhoods overlooking the Ashland District demanded that the entire area east of I-580 be removed from the Eden Area General Plan (covering the unincorporated Eden Township except Castro Valley) and placed in the Castro Valley General Plan.
On July 17 the board of directors of Friends of the Library held a special meeting to discuss this situation and unanimously adopted the following statement:
Whereas the county librarian recently attempted to change the service area of the San Lorenzo Library without public discussion and without advance notice to Friends of the Library,
Therefore the board of directors of Friends of the Library - San Lorenzo Area protests the attempt to change the service area and demands that any such change be fully discussed in public before final action is taken.
SEPT. 17, 2007
Complaints ranging from "unruly conduct to lewd behavior" have led the Alameda County Librarian to push for an unarmed security guard at the San Lorenzo, Union City, and Fremont branches. The idea was presented for the first time at Tuesday's Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting and will be taken up at a future meeting for further review.
According to county librarians, between January and June of this year five security incidents occurred at the San Lorenzo Library, nine at the Fremont branch, and six at the Union City branch. But Deputy County Librarian Ann Hammond would not elaborate on what the complaints were. "It was enough we felt it would be a useful thing to have a security guard," she said.
But Betty Moose, president of Friends of San Lorenzo Library and a member of the county-appointed San Lorenzo Library Advisory Committee, was concerned that the issue was not brought up at the committee's Sept. 27 meeting or at the Friends of the Library meeting on Aug. 27.
County Librarian Jean Hofacket said the purview of these groups does not encompass library operations, so it would be inappropriate to bring the issue to them. [Hofacket apparently had a change of heart, as she brought the issue of guards to the San Lorenzo Library Advisory Committee a week later, on Sept. 22. Members of the committee voiced significant criticism of the proposal to hire guards, and several members were either skeptical or opposed.] Hofacket said the issue of security guards will be discussed in a staff report at the next Alameda County Library Commission meeting, at 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Fremont library.
The County Library asked the Board of Supervisors for a security guard at each library from Sept. 17, 2007 through June 30, 2008 and said that the cost would not exceed $63,744 per year. The request for the County Library to enter into a contract with Oakland-based ABC Security Service Inc. was within the agenda, and no one spoke on behalf of the library or in public comment, Hofacket said.
Moose was concerned that the County Library has money for security guards but not for the much-needed improvement and renovation of the San Lorenzo Library. Hofacket said the money for security guards is coming from an operations budget and that the County Library cannot hold money with only the possibility of renovations. [In fact, at the time, the library administration had begun to plan for renovation of the San Lorenzo Library using Redevelopment Agency funds.]
Moose also said a security guard would lead people to become wary of using the library and would stop coming. "You bring suspicion, and then suspicion creates uncomfortableness," she added. "It won't be a safe place like there is now."
San Lorenzo Library Manager Anthony Dos Santos said there may have been more than five complaints lodged about incidents, since some users complain directly to the library administration in Fremont. The one incident he knew of involved a physical altercation with a man who seemed not to be taking his medication correctly. "I haven't seen any more complaints recently," he said.
Dos Santos, who has been at the library for seven years, said the staff of five to eight can come to him at any time if there is a problem. "We call the sheriff if something gets out of hand, and they have been very responsive," he said. "I have never seen anybody brandish a weapon." He said he was not in favor of security guards at the library, though many of his staff were.
Moose said that until the library can say what the incidents were, it should not have a guard. She added that if an interpersonal conflict arises, the librarians should be able to resolve it themselves. "We are becoming a closer community with more people living here," Moose said. "If we don't learn to handle these things ourselves, then we create an unhealthy environment."
Hayward libraries do not use security guards and also rely on police, said their director, Lisa Rosenblum. She said staff members wear identifying badges and focus on speaking directly to customers when they enter the building. "Certainly all libraries have issues because they are public buildings," she said.
The city of San Leandro has one security guard at its main branch, and none at the others.
Hammond said a majority of public libraries in the region have security guards, including Oakland and San Francisco, which also use ABC Security Service. "It is something being pursued in a majority of places," she said. "It is kind of a fact of life."
SOURCE: Oakland Tribune