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San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay Area library visits have sharply declined. But not in this tranquil suburb
Across the Bay Area, libraries saw just about two-thirds as many visits per capita last year as they did seven years ago, a Chronicle analysis of state library data found. Most libraries in the nine Bay Area counties have yet to see visits climb back to pre-pandemic levels. Large public library systems like San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland are all still seeing about 30% fewer visits per capita than they used to. A handful of systems, though, have not only recovered — they've grown. The data comes from the California State Library, which surveys each public library system each year. To calculate visits per capita, the number of visits at a library in a given fiscal year is divided by the population of that system's service area. Declining visitation is virtually a universal problem. Almost no local public library system saw growth between the 2018-2019 and 2023-2024 fiscal years, the Chronicle found. The numbers are in keeping with national trends, according to a report by the Urban Libraries Council, an advocacy group. But those numbers aren't so bad when viewed in the context of other amenities post-pandemic. 'When you compare what's happening with libraries to what's going on in commercial (office) space, libraries are doing pretty well,' said Brooks Rainwater, the president of the Urban Libraries Council. And though they're still not at pre-pandemic levels, visits per capita in the Bay Area and nationally have been slowly ticking up since their shutdown-induced low points, said Rainwater. He compared the slow but steady recovery of libraries to shifts in all parts of city life, like transit ridership, office visits, tourism and retail shopping, all of which still have yet to reach what they were before COVID. And he expects the recovery will continue. Early data being collected for the council's 2025 report indicates that in-person library visits are up to about 75% of pre-pandemic levels. Part of the picture — and a reason for hope — is the shifting role of what a library is within a community, a change that was happening even before the pandemic, Rainwater said. While an increasing number of people are borrowing ebooks instead of physically checking out books, libraries are also increasingly used as a 'third space' for people to gather, to work or to just hang out, he said. 'Literacy and books are always going to be our stock and trade,' he said, 'but libraries are reflective of community needs.' That's a philosophy Anji Brenner, the city librarian at the Mill Valley Public Library, believes in wholeheartedly. The library, nestled among redwood trees and boasting floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the forest, a deck overlooking the nearby creek and even a wood-burning fireplace, is one of the few in the Bay Area to have fully recovered its visit numbers — an especially impressive feat given that its per capita visit rate was already one of the highest in the Bay Area. 'What's not to love about this place?' Brenner said. Brenner said the recovery didn't happen automatically: Staff worked hard to adapt programming during and after the pandemic. That has meant, for example, everything from author talks to nature walks, and experimenting with the times those programs are offered: Weekends have proven very popular. The library also hired a more diverse staff, which Brenner said helped it to engage with more members of the community. Likewise, Brenner also said that the demographics of visitors have shifted. Twenty- and thirty-somethings come to the library regularly now, a relatively new phenomenon, and teens, who were always reliable patrons, spend even more time there. It also helps that Mill Valley is rich. Brenner noted that both the Mill Valley Library Foundation and Friends of the Mill Valley Library fundraise for the public library. In general, library visits were higher in wealthier places like Marin County. Still, none of that matters if a library system isn't attuned to the community. 'You have to be grounded in who you're serving and why you're here,' she said. 'We want to bring joy to people's lives.'
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Letters to the Editor: A retired librarian attests to the 'positive outcomes' that now-terminated federal grants provided
To the editor: Thank you for prominently featuring the termination of federal monies to libraries on the front page of your California section ('California libraries losing millions in funding after Trump terminates federal grant,' April 4). Although not as far-reaching, perhaps, as cuts to USAID or the U.S. Department of Education, the elimination of Library Services and Technology Act grant funds will impact library services to thousands of people throughout California. I am retired now, but for 10 years worked for the California State Library, which distributes federal library funds statewide. I administered and monitored many LSTA grants and assessed their positive outcomes. I saw thousands of young people benefit from the state's after-school homework help programs, as well as its highly effective summer reading program. I was also proud that the library helped veterans constructively engage with their communities. California needs its libraries and the LSTA funds that support them. Cindy Mediavilla, Culver City .. To the editor: The Trump administration has just terminated the $15.7-million California State Library grant, which benefited child literacy, reading programs for veterans and work-readiness programs. To put this in perspective, Trump goes to Florida on many weekends to play golf, costing taxpayers millions each time, according to The Guardian. In other plain English words, "Do as I say, not as I do." Marty Foster, Ventura .. To the editor: It should come as no great surprise that the Trump administration is cutting funds to libraries. President Trump and his MAGA bros do not want people to read, or to think, or to ask questions, or to learn about folks different from themselves, or to develop empathy for others, or to dream of a better world — one in which all people are valued and respected — and what is necessary to achieve that. Where can all of this happen? In a library! Sandy Schuckett, Los Angeles This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: A retired librarian attests to the ‘positive outcomes' that now-terminated federal grants provided
To the editor: Thank you for prominently featuring the termination of federal monies to libraries on the front page of your California section ('California libraries losing millions in funding after Trump terminates federal grant,' April 4). Although not as far-reaching, perhaps, as cuts to USAID or the U.S. Department of Education, the elimination of Library Services and Technology Act grant funds will impact library services to thousands of people throughout California. I am retired now, but for 10 years worked for the California State Library, which distributes federal library funds statewide. I administered and monitored many LSTA grants and assessed their positive outcomes. I saw thousands of young people benefit from the state's after-school homework help programs, as well as its highly effective summer reading program. I was also proud that the library helped veterans constructively engage with their communities. California needs its libraries and the LSTA funds that support them. Cindy Mediavilla, Culver City .. To the editor: The Trump administration has just terminated the $15.7-million California State Library grant, which benefited child literacy, reading programs for veterans and work-readiness programs. To put this in perspective, Trump goes to Florida on many weekends to play golf, costing taxpayers millions each time, according to The Guardian. In other plain English words, 'Do as I say, not as I do.' Marty Foster, Ventura .. To the editor: It should come as no great surprise that the Trump administration is cutting funds to libraries. President Trump and his MAGA bros do not want people to read, or to think, or to ask questions, or to learn about folks different from themselves, or to develop empathy for others, or to dream of a better world — one in which all people are valued and respected — and what is necessary to achieve that. Where can all of this happen? In a library! Sandy Schuckett, Los Angeles
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California libraries losing millions in funding after Trump terminates federal grant
Libraries across California are bracing for cuts to early literacy, information access and continuing education programs after the Trump administration's latest effort to slash federal spending took aim at the nation's libraries and museums. The California State Library, which supports local libraries and maintains its own collection, said it was notified this week that a key federal grant supporting programs across the state had been terminated, slashing $3 million of funds that had already been awarded. In a statement Thursday, the California State Library said it had yet to receive more than 20% of a $15.7-million grant awarded under the Library Services and Technology Act for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The funds had been distributed to support a wide range of programs across California's libraries, including story times for low-income families, summer reading initiatives, workforce-readiness skills for at-risk youth and opportunities to earn online high school diplomas. Read more: California officials detail Trump funding freeze 'chaos,' warn another could cripple state 'We are deeply disappointed by this ill-informed decision, which immediately affects critical programs supported by these funds,' Rebecca Wendt, the California deputy state librarian, said in a statement. 'The California State Library remains committed to serving all of the people of California and will explore alternative means to ensure continued access to essential library services.' The grant's abrupt stop comes amid turmoil at the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent federal agency that provides the majority of federal support for the nation's libraries, according to its website and the American Library Assn. Much of the agency's staff were placed on administration leave this week, coming weeks after President Trump signed an executive order aimed at the further "reduction of the federal bureaucracy." The order called for the majority of the functions of the library-focused agency, as well as several others, to "be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law." The American Library Assn. called the staff reductions and cuts at the Institute for Museum and Library Services "extremely shortsighted and perilous for the millions of Americans who rely on our public, school, academic, and special libraries." "Library funding draws less than 0.003% of the annual federal budget yet has enormous impact in communities nationwide," the association said in a statement. "From technology classes for jobseekers to services for people with disabilities, from library delivery for older Americans to summer reading programs for families, IMLS funding makes a real, concrete difference in the lives of Americans every day." A request for comment from the IMLS was not immediately answered. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
California libraries losing millions in funding after Trump terminates federal grant
Libraries across California are bracing for cuts to early literacy, information access and continuing education programs after the Trump administration's latest effort to slash federal spending took aim at the nation's libraries and museums. The California State Library, which supports local libraries and maintains its own collection, said it was notified this week that a key federal grant supporting programs across the state had been terminated, slashing $3 million of funds that had already been awarded. In a statement Thursday, the California State Library said it had yet to receive more than 20% of a $15.7 million grant awarded under the Library Services and Technology Act for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The funds had been distributed to support a wide range of programs across California's libraries, including story times for low-income families, summer reading initiatives, workforce-readiness skills for at-risk youth and opportunities to earn online high school diploma. 'We are deeply disappointed by this ill-informed decision, which immediately affects critical programs supported by these funds,' Rebecca Wendt, the California deputy state librarian, said in a statement. 'The California State Library remains committed to serving all of the people of California and will explore alternative means to ensure continued access to essential library services.' The grant's abrupt stop comes amid turmoil at the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent federal agency that provides the majority of federal support for the nation's libraries, according to its website and the American Library Association. Much of the agency's staff were placed on administration leave this week, coming weeks after President Trump signed an executive order aimed at the further 'reduction of the federal bureaucracy.' The order called for the majority of the functions of the library-focused agency, as well as several others, to 'be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.' The American Library Association called the staff reductions and cuts at the Institute for Museum and Library Services 'extremely shortsighted and perilous for the millions of Americans who rely on our public, school, academic, and special libraries.' 'Library funding draws less than 0.003% of the annual federal budget yet has enormous impact in communities nationwide,' the American Library Association said in a statement. 'From technology classes for jobseekers to services for people with disabilities, from library delivery for older Americans to summer reading programs for families, IMLS funding makes a real, concrete difference in the lives of Americans every day.' A request for comment from the IMLS was not immediately answered.
