Summary of Work

Ad Hoc Committee - Summary of Work

Purpose

The Ad Hoc committee was created by the County Board of Supervisors to address persistent budget challenges and funding requests needed to keep libraries open. The Committee's task is to outline a path to achieving a sustainable and equitable finance and governance system for county libraries.

Members

1. Supervisor Das Williams, District 1
2. Supervisor Joan Hartmann, District 3
3. Jessica Cadiente, Library Director, Santa Barbara Public Library
4. Sarah Bleyl, Library Director, Lompoc Public Library
5. Dawn Jackson (2022), Joanne Britton (2021), Mary Housel (2018-2020), Library Director, Santa Maria Public Library
6. Allison Gray, Director, Goleta Valley Library
7. Patricia Saley, representing friends of the libraries
8. Judith Dale, representing the Library Advisory Committee Member
9. George Chapjian, Director, Community Services Department

Facilitators

LegacyWorks Group: Carrie Kappel, Ellen Kwiatkowski, Megan Miley

Guiding Principles

All residents in Santa Barbara County deserve access to library services
Service levels vary by community needs and library type (see library categories)
Equity requires consideration of population and other issues
Core operations should be funded by public revenue sources (county, cities, taxes). Friends, foundations, volunteers, grants and public-private partnerships should be activated for expanded services
Libraries should have secure and sufficient resources to meet community needs
Support services provided by main libraries (services, programs, curriculum and more) enhance branch libraries
Library decisionmaking should enable flexibility for library directors as well as transparency, accountability and opportunities for input from the community
Increased collaboration and coordination in terms of budgets, library organization and programming will have systemwide benefits

Adopted 4/30/2019

Challenges and Opportunities

Santa_Barbara_Countywide_Libraries_Structure_Challenges_and_Opportunities.pdf

Phases of Work

Archive of Meeting Materials

Phase 1 Jan 2019 - May 2019

Establish purpose and principles
Gather facts, identify challenges and needs for additional information
Recommend strategy to fill 2019/20 gaps and encourage Cities’ and Friends contributions

Board of Supervisors Meetings

Phase 1 Meeting Materials

Phase 2 Jul 2019 - May 2020

Benchmarking: Establish realistic, equitable standards for library services and estimate costs to meet those standards
Public Funding: Identify the most feasible option for increasing public revenue for libraries
Initiate conversations to explore philanthropy and partnerships to scope potential Phase 3 work

Board of Supervisors Meetings

Phase 2 Meeting Materials

Phase 2 Working Groups: Benchmarking Minimum Service Levels and Taxes

The documents in this folder are excerpts from the meeting materials above, separated by topic for easier access.

Phase 3 Oct 2020 - Sep 2021

Draft revisions to the annual library agreement between the county and managing cities to clarify roles and cap admin costs
Assessed options for alternative governance arrangements for the countywide library system

Board of Supervisors Meetings

Phase 3 Meeting Materials

Phase 3 Working Groups: Library Agreement and Governance

The documents in this folder are excerpts from the meeting materials above, separated by topic for easier access.

Phase 4 Jan 2022 - Jun 2022

Invited City elected leaders to participate.
Reviewed and discussed governance and finance options.
Recommended the County and Cities work together to form a finance JPA in order to pass and administer a countywide library tax.

Board of Supervisors Meetings

Phase 4 Meeting Materials

2019-2022 Ad Hoc Committee | Summary of Work | Our Library System | Resources

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