Library laying off 11 workers

Volunteers will be used in new ways to meet growing demand for services and fill the void left by staff reductions

By Bob Cuddy | bcuddy@thetribunenews.com

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Eleven people will receive layoff notices this week from the City-County Library, according to Library Director Brian Reynolds, as the library system seeks to adjust to the withering economy.

Reynolds said the 11 people account for seven full-time positions.

The cutbacks come at a time when there is greater demand on the library system.

Not only is demand up in existing libraries on a day-to-day basis, �but we are anticipating larger/newer library buildings in Cambria, Atascadero, Cayucos, and perhaps even Templeton,� Reynolds wrote in an e-mail to The Tribune.

�Increased demand likely doesn�t imply increased revenues,� he added. �So, we are looking at doing more with less, at being innovative for the long haul.�

Reynolds said he hopes volunteers can take up some of the slack.

�There is a renewed emphasis on using volunteers in new ways,� Reynolds wrote.

�We use close to 600 volunteers in a given week, which equates to about 12 FTE positions,� Reynolds wrote.

�I�m certain that we can use volunteers more efficiently ... and this is what I�m committed to.�

Reynolds stressed that library volunteers �are not intended to replace paid staff. Rather, they are intended to help us cope with increased demand and lower revenues.�

County Supervisor Frank Mecham made the same point at a Board of Supervisors meeting last week when a library administrative assistant complained to supervisors that volunteers were taking her and others� jobs.

�There has never been any intent to replace staff with volunteers,� Mecham said, adding that the volunteer program is a separate issue.

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