Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Curiouser and Curiouser


Curiouser and curiouser


Three members of the Committee to Save Schaberg went to the last library board meeting.   A quick fashion note,  even Library Board members love our Carolina Blue Save Schaberg Library shirts, so order yours at weloveschaberg@yahoo.com

When we arrived we noticed a new person sitting at the table with the board members, in this blog we will call her Susie Citizen.

Why was this interesting?  Well, a bit of history.  Ms. Citizen had asked to join the Committee to Save Schaberg and we welcomed her to our meetings. (as we welcome anyone who wants to help save this wonderful neighborhood asset).

Ms. Citizen remained on the committee for a few months, during which time former Library Trustee (and Committee to Save Schaberg co-founder) Sharon Levin received a phone call from a person trying to persuade her and our committee to take our efforts for Schaberg behind the scenes.  You can read more here:


After having that conversation and thinking about it more, Ms. Levin realized it was VERY similar to an earlier conversation she’d had with a former library board member, who also tried to convince her to have an off-line meeting with Barbara Pierce.  So, similar in fact, that she e-mailed the former board member and asked him if he might be a member of Citizens for Redwood City  (the group that the other person claimed to represent)  http://citizensforredwoodcity.org/CRC/Welcome.html  he confirmed that he was.  He also mentioned that Susie Citizen was their secretary.  Please note that Jerry Pierce, husband of Councilwoman Barbara Pierce is the head of this group.

When Ms. Levin sent this information out to our Committee and asked Susie what was up, she abruptly resigned.  One does not have to be an Oliver Stone fan here to feel that something is not quite right.

What is going on here?  Why is the effort to save a library such a cloak and dagger operation?  In theory, we should all be on the same side.  Who in the world is on the side of CLOSING a neighborhood treasure?  Why is so much being hidden? 

Thursday, June 9, 2011

The Need to ask WHY

The Need to ask WHY

WHY?

This is really the question we should be asking.

WHY are Redwood City citizens fighting AGAINST the Redwood City city council and the Library Director? Why are they not fighting WITH us to KEEP Schaberg?

WHY are they holding to an unwritten, non-binding policy of not using one time funds for operational costs? If the bequest money were $2500.00, that's one thing, but it's $252,000 (or $225,000 - again the Library Director has given both figures), enough to keep Schaberg Library open for the next two and a half years at its current hours.

WHY when a councilmember was asked how a Library Director could just 'discover' a quarter of a million dollar bequest did she dismiss that as 'normal' in government?

WHY are they insisting they need the money for programs at the other three libraries, when the offer to volunteer to staff or find staff for these programs has been made again and again and again?

WHY does the Mayor refuse to discuss this matter with the electorate?

WHY in an economic time when people turn to libraries, would the option of shutting one down be a better option than fewer storytimes?

WHY oh WHY are they NOT on the side of a library?

WHY?

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

What Happens to the Bequest Money Now?

The Committee to Save Schaberg sent an earlier (mid-March) open letter. That one remains unanswered. We are hoping that our elected officials and city employees or appointees will consent to engage in dialogue with us regarding these funds.

AN OPEN LETTER REGARDING THE SCHABERG LIBRARY BRANCH

FROM: The Committee to Save Schaberg

TO: The Redwood City City Council

  • Library Director Dave Genesy
  • The Redwood City Library Board
  • Library Foundation Director Georgi LaBerge

May 25, 2011

The Committee has learned that retired librarian Chuck Ashton has terminated his contract . We understand he'll be doing his final story times on June 10th. This information has not been released or confirmed publicly. Is this in fact accurate?

If this is the case, most of the bequest money has not been used. We urgently renew our request that the funds be used to fully restore hours at the Schaberg branch and to stock its shelves to the standard maintained at the other branches.

To whom do we address this request, in light of the new situation? Is the money in the Foundation's hands? The Library Board's? The City Council's?

A Schaberg fan, inspired by the blog to contact her local officials got this response from Mayor Ira:

“I have read your email and on behalf of the City Council thank you for expressing your views. The Council will discuss this matter as part of the budget process. You are welcome to provide public comment at the upcoming budget sessions scheduled for:

June 20 and

June 27, 2011

Thank you again for sharing your position.

Sincerely,

Jeff Ira

Mayor, Redwood City”

As noted before, the bequest allocated to pay Chuck Ashton was not part of the city's budget. Please clarify: Is this money now part of the budget? Will you and the council address that issue publicly? We contend the bequest is in the control of the Library Board, as specified in its charter.

Mayor Ira has invited us to speak at Public Comments before, but has rejected our request to slate the issue as an agenda item. The City Council cannot enter into dialogue with supporters of Schaberg in a Public Comments segment. Mayor Ira, will you commit to open discussion of this bequest and the Schaberg situation as part of the budget agenda conversation?

In its dialogue about Cargill, the Council has promised a transparent process. We ask for this in discussions about Schaberg and its survival as well.

Looking forward to your response,

The Committee to Save Schaberg

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

How YOU Can Help Save Schaberg Library

How YOU Can Help Save Schaberg Library

As I, and other members of the Committee to Save Schaberg have stood outside the library gathering petitions we hear three things. One, "I didn't know they were thinking of closing Schaberg." Two, "How can I help?" and Three, "Thank you."

So, yes, as city coffers tighten, the closing of Schaberg has come under serious consideration. However, as we have noted before there is a bequest of $225, 000 or $252,000 (both figures have been given by the Library Director) that could keep this library going for at least two more years, during which time we can fund raise and build up a cushion to help keep Schaberg going.

How can you help? First and foremost, let city officials know that you care. Please e-mail the City Council, either individually or as a group.

GRP-City Council

Jeff Ira - Mayor (and you can see Mayor Ira's interview re: Schaberg here) 780-7553 (voice mail), 802-0866 (fax) jira@redwoodcity.org

Alicia C. Aguirre - Vice Mayor 306-3222 (Work), 261-9102 (Fax) aaguirre@redwoodcity.org

Ian Bain
780-7565, 261-9102 (fax)
ibain@redwoodcity.org

Rosanne Foust
368-1841 (res), 780-7220 (City Clerk)
rfoust@redwoodcity.org

Jeffrey Gee
596-9860 (res)
483-7412 (cell)
jgee@redwoodcity.org

Barbara Pierce
368-6246 (res)
bpierce@redwoodcity.org

John D. Seybert
367-7665 (home bus)
261-9102 (fax)
jseybert@redwoodcity.org

You can contact the Redwood City Library Director,

Dave Genesy dgenesy@redwoodcity.org 780-7060

and the Library Board Members

Reina B. Barragan - President

rbbarragan@sbcglobal.net

Alex Schernig - Vice President

schernig@yahoo.com

Jeanne Gross - Secretary

jeannegross106@gmail.com

Diane Belknap

diane.belknap@gmail.com

Stefanie Boicelli

281-5527 (res)

995-7407 (bus)

boicelli@gmail.com

Rudy Madrigal, Esq. rudy63@netzero.net

You can also follow and like our Facebook page and help spread the word. It is through information and involvement that we can support and save Schaberg.

Of course, go into Schaberg as often as you can and check out your limit (and your family's limit) each time. Schaberg's 'usefulness' is defined by head count and circulation - so let's see those grow people!

Last, but not least, you can buy and wear one of our VERY fashionable sky blue t-shirts. The front says SAVE SCHABERG LIBRARY, the back says USE IT OR LOSE IT. The cost is $14.50 each and the funds only cover the shirt, no funds are for the library. You can order your shirt(s) at weloveschaberg@yahoo.com

As to comment number three, you're welcome, we're happy to do it.

Friday, April 29, 2011

A Disturbing Conversation

I had an illuminating conversation today with someone who claims deep knowledge of Redwood City's powerful insiders If his comments to me are reflective of the machinations behind the Schaberg issues, it's important they be known publicly. So here I'll share the conversation; as he did not make these comments publicly, I'm not disclosing identity, or that of the group he's affiliated with.

This man is with a local political association. He contacted me to explore the possibility of our group meeting with his. But he didn't want us to simply provide someone to speak to the group. He wanted our group to meet with him, then have him present to the Executive Committee of his group () . Then, if they wanted to help us, they would allow us to come present to his whole group and we could begin working together.

I noted that our committee has met physically only twice because we're all busy, and that most of our communication happens via e-mail. I was more than willing to answer any questions and come talk to their group (or have another committee member attend). He declined, and here's where the conversation got interesting: he said the group is not comfortable with how the committee has been approaching the threat to the Schaberg branch.

His key issue: that we've been dealing with this publicly. He said we should have private meetings with city, library and foundation official to find out why decisions have been made. That they would give us information that would let us know more about what is going on and what other paths we could take.

Let me underline the implication here: that the real information on the disposition of the bequest money and the potential closure of Schaberg could be revealed to me behind closed doors.

He reiterated that I should meet on my own with Councilwoman Pierce, Library Director Genesy, Foundation Director LaBerge and Ms. LaBerge's husband, a professional mediator. I had declined this months ago when Councilwoman Pierce suggested it, and here's why: one, this is not a personality conflict and I am not the issue; and two, discussions regarding the library and library funding should be a matter of public record.

This grew more and more disturbing as we talked, and hours later it's still upsetting. Why was this being put forth as an “insiders vs. outsiders” issue? I just don't understand why there are any outsiders when it comes to community issues.

I was also told that our group seemed to have concerns: the fate of Schaberg, the disposition of the bequest; and retired librarian Chuck Ashton. I corrected that third point: our issue is not with Mr. Ashton specifically, but with the allocation of $200,000 for his storytelling services over five years while a library's fate is in the balance.

Now another intriguing turn: my contact said, "Well, imagine that you had the money to keep the library open separate from the bequest. Would you still pursue that path?" I said that the scenario didn't make sense, since that is not the reality we're dealing with. He pressed, "But if you had the money, would you continue on this path?" I asked if one of his group members was ready to write a large check to the library; he said of course not. So why, I asked would I spend time and energy pondering an imaginary solution?

Over the course of our talk my caller returned repeatedly to one theme: the Committee to Save Schaberg is making the wrong choice by conducting our campaign publicly, providing the press with information, and involving the library's users. He made it clear the best way to handle it was behind closed doors with the powers that be – even going so far as to imply that the real power behind these choices is not the person who publicly bears that responsibility. At one point I felt I should be having this conversation in a parking garage and that I should be calling my contact by the name of a porn movie! (Watergate and Deep Throat, people; if you don't remember that, rent the movie) :-)

I finally told my contact our group is doing the right things; that this is a public issue and that people must be informed. If he and his group decide to support Schaberg, I said, they're certainly welcome to use whatever methods they deem appropriate. We ended the conversation.

And this is the road we're staying on. Redwood City's passionate, involved community deserves to be fully informed about decisions that affect us. The Committee is determined to work openly and transparently to bring adequate funding to Schaberg, and full library services to Redwood City's west side. It's not clear which or how many people my caller represents. But it is clear he endorses the exact kind of back-room dealing that's brought this valuable library branch to the precipice, and that's not the way to bring it back.

Please take a moment TODAY to call or email the Mayor or a council member (here is all the contact info), and the Library Board members (a list is here). Tell them how important Schaberg Library, and a public dialogue about its future are to you. And thanks for your continued support!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Children's Author Terri Farley speaks up for Schaberg

Lovesong to Libraries #1


Schaberg was my husband’s boyhood library, the first place Cory was allowed to walk alone. Cocky with independence, he’d go striding down Alameda to Vera, then cross the Roosevelt School playground to Euclid Avenue just because he could.
Sure, he came home with an armload of books, quickly read so that he could make that trip again, but this small library gave him more than the roots of learning, it gave him the hidden gift of independence.
We live in Nevada, now, but it’s no coincidence we bought a house across the street from a rural library.
I discovered how closely my children resembled their father the day a librarian brought our dogs home. Rookie and Rosie had escaped their kennel and ended their frolic at the Verdi library. I was surprised and pleased that they knew where to go for help. Then the librarian confided that all of the hours of exercise I thought my dogs and kids were getting -- well, those ended at the library, too.
After darting down our dirt road and across the street, my kids went in to read. Rookie and Rosie, collie and German Shepherd, provided the Verdi equivalent of the New York City Public Library lions.
My children’s love of books was no surprise, but they were both a bit shy and I was delighted that they’d talked adults into keeping their visits secret.
As a pudgy girl with glasses and disabling asthma, I rarely rode bikes and played street ball with friends. I was a poor athlete, the classic “last chosen” for school teams, but I was a star at the Paramount public library. Within days of crossing the library threshold, Nancy Drew mysteries and horse books literally had my name on them, because checking out a book meant signing a card that lived inside it.
One day a librarian told me, as she stamped and stacked my books, that my name should be Phillipa, because it meant lover of horses. I was stunned. She knew I loved horses? Names had meanings? Fifty years later, I still feel the elation and wonder.
Cory grew up to be a Best-of-Gannett newspaper columnist. I grew up to write books for young readers. My daughter will soon teach high school English and my son writes brilliantly on popular culture. Books gave us affection for stories and words, but small libraries like Schaberg gave us the hidden gifts of independence, communication and self-worth.
A seed that grows a thousand blooms is rare, but neighborhood libraries are just that, growing readers and thinking human beings by the bushel. We owe it to our children to keep them alive.

Friday, April 22, 2011

So, What's Up with the Schaberg Library Branch?

The Schaberg branch of the Redwood City Library System, once a fully-functional library with normal reliable hours, is now operating with a curtailed schedule and is under threat of eventual closure.


Schaberg is the only city library branch west of downtown, serving patrons well beyond the Roosevelt neighborhood. There has already been an attempt to cut children's services, with the suspension of its homework group. Outcry from the patrons brought that group back, and prevented its being changed to a for-pay service. But other cuts, even complete closure, are still possible.

This has been presented to the public (in the few words the City has acknowledged the situation with at all) as a funding issue. But at the same time, $225,000 bequeathed to the city by a long-time patron has been earmarked to pay a storyteller: a retired librarian, billing $45 per hour with a two-hour ($90) minimum, to sing and tell stories to children, spend 20 minutes at a tea event, or pass out brochures at a preschool event.

The threats to Schaberg's future became public when trustee Sharon Levin resigned her post on the library's board, so that she could discuss the issue openly. Levin questioned the disposition of the bequest while still on the board; she was told only, "that boat has sailed". No discussion of the decision appears in the public notes of the meetings; no discussion was held at the November 2010 meeting of the City Council, when the decision was approved.

While Schaberg faces potential closure, the storytelling ex-librarian is guaranteed his $90-per-event pay for a full five year. Librarians have offered to do the same work in the same hours they're working now. Volunteers have offered to do the same for no pay. No explanation is forthcoming from the Library Foundation or the City Council as to why these offers are turned down.

Levin also questioned why materials at the Redwood Shores branch are restricted to that branch only, not shared as materials are between all other branches.  Likewise, the Shores branch has benefited from extensive fundraising; the same is underway now for the Fair Oaks branch. No fundraising is planned for the Schaberg branch - again, without explanation.

Receiving no satisfactory answers, Levin left her position and formed the Committee to Save Schaberg with other concerned citizens. The Committee's goal is to convince the city to re-examine its allocation of nearly a quarter of a million dollars to a former library employee, while a branch of the library itself is on life support.

Redwood City Mayor Jeff Ira told redwoodcitypatch.com that the city's policy is to not direct one-time funds to ongoing expenses. There's no record that such a policy has ever existed formally; the mayor and other officials cited it when the issue began attracting attention.

Moreover, despite increasing public outcry, no member of the city council, the Library Board, nor the Library Foundation has been willing to discuss these issues in an open dialogue. Efforts to place the issue on the City Council agenda were reviewed and rejected by the mayor, the vice-mayor, and the city manager.

The goals of the Committee to Save Schaberg are four-fold:
  1. to engage the City Council and Library Board in public, open discussion of these issues;
  2. to see the bequest funds redirected from their current earmarked use - an exorbitant salary over five years for a single individual, for services qualified volunteers have offered to perform - to restoring full services and hours to the Schaberg branch; 
  3. to establish equitable funding and services for all branches, without favoritism; and
  4. to organize ongoing fund development for Schaberg, insuring its continued service to the west side of Redwood City and all its neighbors.
Please join us! We'd love to have you with us as we attend city council meetings or library board meetings; get the word out to neighborhood associations and other interested groups; or get petitions signed at local gatherings. It's all in one good cause: to keep an excellent library open and thriving.

We welcome all your questions and comments below, screened only for civility, not for content or sentiment.