The Goleta City Council is considering different options for managing its local library, and may decide to take over control from the city of Santa Barbara.
At this week’s meeting, council members provided feedback and received an update on the Goleta Valley Library regarding future governance and management.
Staff was advised to negotiate with both the city and county of Santa Barbara to possibly extend the current agreement with the city of Santa Barbara, which expires in December, and explore information about direct control of the Goleta Library.
Currently, the library governance structure designates the Goleta Library as a branch within the county-wide system.
Goleta owns the facility, but the city of Santa Barbara runs it under an agreement with the county.
Goleta is also under contract with the city of Santa Barbara, which outlines requirements for library management services, including the use of Measure L funds.
Once city staff have more information about the options, the City Council will decide whether to have the city take over the institution at 500 N. Fairview Ave.
Public libraries are regulated by the California Library Services Act, and before any final action can be made, changes in the governance will require approval by the state, according to staff findings.
Santa Barbara staff also indicated that the 9-percent administrative fee funding operations would be increased to 18 percent starting in the 2017-18 fiscal year.
“I prefer to have the control in the city, and it’s the most cost-effective,” Councilman Tony Vallejo said. “This is a great idea and we need to expedite this, so the residents have the reassurance that this library continues to operate at its current level.”
The city of Santa Barbara is supportive of allowing Goleta to assume responsibility or continuing to provide management services, according to Goleta staff.
The library has a $1.5 million budget with six full-time positions. Its revenues come from the Friends of the Goleta Valley Library, local development impact fees, Measure L funds, overdue book fees, private donations and per capita funding from the county based on the number of people in the library’s service area.
“We aren’t changing the operation,” Councilman Roger Aceves said. “We have more circulation than Lompoc or Santa Maria. We almost have both of their numbers combined.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
