Become a JPL Advocate!

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If you treasure the Jacksonville Public Library and believe that we’re an integral partner in our city’s future, we want you to consider contacting your local and state representatives to stress the importance of adequate library funding.

Ways to Advocate the Jacksonville Public Library:

• Contact senators and representatives who serve Duval County in the Florida Legislature and urge them to support the future of the Jacksonville Public Library. Click here to locate their contact information.

• Contact your City Council representative by visiting the My Neighborhood search on the City of Jacksonville website and entering your address to locate specific contact information for your council member.

• Visit myfloridahouse.gov, click “Find Your Representative,” and enter your address to locate contact information for your Florida elected officials. Let them know what we mean to you and your family.

• Share this information with your friends and family and encourage them support the JPL. Read more about additional ways to support us here.

If you’re not convinced that the Jacksonville Public Library is an indispensable community resource, take a moment to read the stories of people just like you who rely on their library. From children’s programs and educational resources to adult literacy, assistance for job seekers, and special needs services, we are much more than just books–we’re a vital community hub that people depend on.

Not your ordinary drawing contest

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This isn’t any ordinary drawing contest. The esteemed winner of our Teen Drawing Contest gets a solo show at the Main Library during March Art Walk, along with a $30 Reddi Arts gift certificate. Entries from will be displayed in the gallery during February Art Walk.

Library Budget Cut Less Than Expected; All Locations Open on Mondays

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Thanks to the many library supporters who worked tirelessly on our behalf, the library’s
budget for the new fiscal year will be reduced less than expected. The Jacksonville City
Council voted Tuesday night to restore $1.7 million to our budget. That means:

  • All locations will be open on Mondays.
  • The Maxville Branch Library will not be closed.
  • No library employee will  be demoted or told that he or she no longer has a job.

While the cut is less than expected, it is still a reduction of $1.3 million. To accommodate this reduction, service hours at some locations will be reduced and vacant positions will not be filled. The new schedule goes into effect Oct. 15 and can be found on our website.

The library owes a large debt of gratitude to the many “Friends,” library customers and
supporters in our community who have worked tirelessly on behalf of the library to
reverse the budget cuts. We also greatly appreciate the many library supporters on the
City Council for their work on our behalf, particularly Council Member John Crescimbeni
and Council President Stephen Joost.

Thank you for loving your library!

The Rest of the Story

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The Florida Times-Union published an article on Sept. 21 titled “Library down to last page in budget: Patrons could be final chance for system to avoid big cuts.” While it was accurate and we appreciate the Times-Union bringing the library’s budget crisis to the attention of readers, the figures in the accompanying chart were based on Fiscal Year 2009 data contained in the Capacity Plan Study by Godfrey’s Associates.

It’s important that you have the full and up-to-date picture concerning library costs. As you read the article, please keep in mind these key points:

  • Operating costs in the article under-report the full costs of running the libraries; the numbers listed on the chart only account for staffing and utilities costs. They do not include the cost of library materials or of janitorial, security, or distribution services, nor of maintenance, indirect cost allocations, or IT costs.
  • The chart does not include costs of functions that serve the system as a whole, such as salaries of staff in support services, library administration, and facilities management, as well as the cost of centralized computer systems, subscriptions to reference databases, and our rapidly growing e-library services.

The library faces a $3.5 million cut if the City Council approves the budget as-is on Sept. 27. You have time to contact your city council representative and let him or her know that you do not want to lose library service. Find your council member by visiting the My Neighborhood search on the City of Jacksonville website and entering your address.

Significant Budget Cuts Impact All Locations Effective Oct. 1

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The Jacksonville Public Library is facing significant budget cuts that will impact all library locations effective Oct. 1, 2011. The total cut to date comes to almost $3.5 million. It is important to understand how this figure came about, and what it means to you and our libraries.

Budget timeline:

In June, in preparation for the mayor’s 2012 budget proposal, the city budget office requested that the library cut $435,000 from the library’s current budget. The library was able to reduce expenses without eliminating positions or reducing service hours; we reduced contracts for security guards, some maintenance contracts, software licensing, and other similar charges.  After factoring in internal service charges and interdepartmental charges, the total reduction to the library’s current budget was almost $906,000.

On August 25, the City Council Finance Committee directed the library to reduce its costs by another $2.1 million by closing all libraries one day per week. The library chose Monday as the most logical option.

On September 1, action by the Finance Committee on the city’s pension costs with regard to the actuarial study mandated the library operating budget be cut by an additional $476,266. These budget cuts would pay for the library’s share of additional city pension costs. The Board of Library Trustees met this week to approve plans to achieve this third budget cut.

The impact of the $3.5 million budget cuts will be the following:

  • All libraries will be closed on Mondays.
  • Main Library and four regional branches will be open four, rather than five, hours on Sundays. This will be accomplished by reducing hours at these locations during the week.
  • The Maxville Branch Library will be closed.
  • Neighborhood libraries, previously not impacted by the cuts, now will be open 32 hours per week Tuesday through Friday.

What do the cuts mean for staff positions?

In order to meet a budget reduction of this magnitude, 41 full-time positions will be eliminated.  In addition, 25 to 30 part-time positions will be lost (13 FTEs).

What happens next?

The Jacksonville City Council will hold a public hearing on the city’s budget during its regularly scheduled meeting on September 13 beginning at 5 p.m. in the City Council Chamber at City Hall (117 West Duval Street).  The final vote on the budget is September 27.

If you have questions or concerns about these proposed cuts, contact your council member.  You can find the contact information for your council member by using the My Neighborhood search on the City of Jacksonville website.

Impact of $3.5 Million FY ’12 Budget Reduction on the Jacksonville Public Library

The total cuts being proposed for the Jacksonville Public Library’s budget amount to a reduction of $3.5 million (9% of the library’s operating budget). Following are some of the ramifications of these cuts:

  •      41 full-time positions and 25 to 30 part-time positions will be lost.
  •      The 21 libraries will lose between 235 and 260 hours each week of service to the public (a 21-23% reduction in service).
  •      In 2010 (the latest complete year of data), customers used library computers for 225,000 computer sessions on days that will no longer be options for them. Because of the popularity of the computers on all days, most lost opportunities on one day of the week could not be made up on another.
  •      Customers made approximately 920,000 visits to libraries on days that will no longer be options for them.
  •      This number of visits includes thousands of children and teens, who count on libraries as a safe place for homework and learning activities after school.
  •      Community groups will have to find another place to hold over 5,000 meetings because one weekday each week will no longer an option and there aren’t enough openings on other days of the week to accommodate them.
  •      Customers who would have checked out library materials on Monday (approximately 1.5 million items in 2010) will no longer have that option.
  •      10,000 hours of literacy instruction could be lost.
  •      As many as 1,800 fewer programs will be offered for children, teens and adults.

Library Budget Cut Further

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More Services to be Reduced; Jobs Eliminated

The Board of Library Trustees met in an emergency session Sept. 6 to meet a City Council Finance Committee mandated reduction in the operating budget of $476,266. The committee is requiring the budget cuts to pay for the library’s share of additional city pension costs.

Reluctantly and with strenuous opposition, the board submitted the following additional cuts:

  1. Close all the libraries on Sundays. (Currently, the Main Library and four regional branches are open on Sundays.)  This is in addition to closing libraries one day per week, per the committee’s request of Aug. 25.
  2. Close the Maxville Branch Library.
  3. Reduce the operating hours at the three remaining neighborhood branches from 40 hours per week to 32 hours per week.

If all requested cuts are implemented, the library budget for Fiscal Year 2012 will have been reduced by $3.5 million from the current budget.  These cuts would have significant ramifications, including the following:

  • The library system will lose 260 hours each week: 23% of total operating hours
  • More than 250,000 lost opportunities to use public computers
  • More than 5,000 community meetings will have to be held somewhere else, potentially at a cost to those organizations, as library space will no longer be available on a weekday.
  • Services to customers with special needs will be cut by 20%.
  • 39 full time jobs and approximately 24 part time jobs will be eliminated.

More than 1 million visits were made to the library on Sundays and Mondays last year; customers checked out approximately 1.7 million items on these two days alone. The opportunity for literacy instruction, programs for children, and the availability of services for job seekers would be greatly reduced.

This action is not yet final—the full council will vote on the budget Sept. 27.  You have time to contact your city council representative and let him or her know that you do not want to lose library service! Find your council member by visiting the My Neighborhood search on the City of Jacksonville website and entering your address.