Library fees under review by city and county systems
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

Sometimes librarians tell patrons to hush. Ventura County Library Director Jackie Griffin's reprimand is a little stronger: She believes the county has been paying Thousand Oaks too much for services to unincorporated areas.

"The $187,000 a year the county pays is very, very expensive for service for the 1,500 people who take advantage of using Thousand Oaks library," Griffin said.

On Aug. 21 the Ventura County Library Commission directed Griffin to start a conversation with Thousand Oaks to let the city know the county was moving in the direction to stop paying for that service, she said.

"No schedule has been set for us to stop paying the fee, but we hope to begin talks with Thousand Oaks after Labor Day," Griffin said.

Thousand Oaks library services director Steve Brogden said he would have attended the Aug. 21 meeting if he'd known the library service fee was going to be on the agenda.

He's looking forward to talking with Griffin, for whom he has a lot of respect, he said.

Currently, the county pays Thousand Oaks to provide services for residents of Ventu Park, unincorporated Newbury Park and Lynn Ranch, according to a press release distributed by the county.

Since 1998, Brogden said, that agreement has expanded to include Lake Sherwood and Casa Conejo.

He also said the county has never paid the city $187,000, but that's the amount they could pay for the coming year. The payments vary each year, with the last two years' payments from the county being in the high $150,000 range, he said.

"The amount is based on a formula. The property taxes that would go from those pockets of unincorporated areas toward the county library are given to us instead," Brogden said.

The Thousand Oaks library system is funded by money taken 50 percent from property taxes and 50 percent from the city's general fund, said city spokesperson Andrew Powers.

"The library's budget this year is about $9 million," Brogden said.

Library patrons who live outside the city and the contract area with the county are charged $70 each for library card privileges. Last year that fee brought in $25,000, but it was never meant to be a money maker, just a way to break even so the city's residents didn't have to subsidize residents from outside the city limits, Brogden said.

"They can come and use the library, but if they want to take something from the library, they need to pay the fee to get a library card," Brogden said.

In 1991, the city began to charge an access fee because the library parking lot was full, many of those with library cards didn't live in the city and people had to sit on the floor to study at the library, Brogden said.

"It's important that library access is available to those who pay the taxes for the services," Powers said.

In the past, the county didn't offer library services nearby for the unincorporated areas to use, so in 1998 the county agreed to pay the fee.

Since then, the county has added libraries in Oak Park and Camarillo, bringing the total number to 14.

Griffin also pointed out that the county, along with the cities of Oxnard, Moorpark and Santa Paula, allows anyone in California to use their libraries for free.

"Only Thousand Oaks charges people outside the city limits annually for a library card," Griffin said. She said she doesn't think that's right.

"Library services should be free for all residents," Griffin said.

According to the county, 1,578 residents used the Thousand Oaks library in the last two years while 2,600 Thousand Oaks residents have used the county library system.

Powers pointed out Thousand Oaks library is a part of the Metropolitan Corporation of Library Systems, a cooperative system that includes Los Angeles, Calabasas, Oxnard and Moorpark libraries.

"It's a phenomenal system. Anyone with a Thousand Oaks library card can check out books from those libraries, and they can check out books from Thousand Oaks," Brogden said.