Stevie Hartford wants to become a children’s librarian, but job prospects are looking increasingly grim.
Whether they hope to work in schools or public libraries, Hartford and other graduate students in UCLA’s Department of Information Studies have focused their efforts on becoming information professionals such as librarians and archivists.
Recent budget cuts to the Los Angeles public libraries have hindered their goals.
Graduate students in the department will gather today for a Day of Action at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies to promote Measure L, a charter amendment that will appear on next month’s city elections ballot to increase funding to the Los Angeles Public Library system. The event is being organized by members of the student chapter of the American Library Association.
Cuts to the Los Angeles library system were made when it came time to calculate the budget for the 2010 fiscal year, said Britt Foster, information studies graduate student and co-president of the ALA chapter. Of the general funds allotted to public services such as the police and water department, the library system currently receives .0175 percent.
The city was facing roughly a $500 million deficit and had to cut funding from all departments, said City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana.
Measure L proposes the libraries’ share be increased to its original .03 percent to alleviate reductions in staff and operation hours.
Since taxes would not be increased, the funding would have to be reallocated from other programs and services that take from the general fund, Santana said. The reallocations would be determined in the mayor’s budget if the measure passes.
Students who attend the Day of Action will meet at 1 p.m. to pass out flyers, call and educate local citizens about the charter amendment, and encourage other students to vote for the measure.
“I know many future librarians that are learning everything it takes to run a library,” said Hartford. “I want them to be able to use those skills in Los Angeles.”
Not everyone is in support of the measure.
Dedicating more funds to the libraries would result in other city government functions receiving less money, according to a Los Angeles Times editorial. Police do not want to hire fewer police officers or close down graffiti-removal programs as an alternative.
Yet the current allotment of funds has had strong repercussions on library staff.
Annie Cipolla, who has been a librarian at the Westwood Branch Library for three years, said she feels “extremely vulnerable” to losing her job.
The branch has already laid off 28 percent of the staff, most of which were newly hired, she said. Current staff has been stretched thin trying to help visitors while shelving and processing books.
Because of the cuts, the branch has had to reappropriate staff and cut many adult librarian positions throughout the system, said Wendy Westgate, children’s librarian at the Westwood Branch. Westgate held an adult librarian position until the cuts forced her to switch to being a children’s librarian.
Students at UCLA who use the school libraries are also experiencing the effects of the budget cuts, said Julia Glassman, an information studies graduate student.
Glassman works as a reference desk assistant at Powell Library, where she must sometimes refer students to public libraries.
She said there have been times when she would need an item from the Westwood Branch on a Sunday afternoon, only to remember that it is closed on Sundays and Mondays.