Altadena : Library to Close Sundays
Altadena’s library will be closed Tuesday nights and Sundays beginning Oct. 17.
The Altadena Library District cannot afford to keep the library open seven days a week because of budget cutbacks.
The state has taken about $500,000 in property tax money normally allocated to the library, said William J. Tema, Altadena’s district librarian.
The Altadena Library District, one of only two special library districts in the county, is funded by Altadena property taxes.
To keep the 120,000-book library open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, trustees will be forced to spend all of the library district’s $220,000 in reserves this year, Tema said. The library is now open until 9 on Tuesday nights.
Three retiring staff members will not be replaced, and the library materials budget, which pays for books and magazines, will be cut from $152,500 to $73,000.
Officials plan to restore library hours by next fall. They hope to raise $400,000 through a special assessment on property or a parcel tax costing Altadena households $25 to $39.
The assessment will be pursued if Gov. Pete Wilson signs a bill authorizing libraries to assess fees on local property.
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