Amid widespread fears Merced County officials were looking to privatize public libraries, one county official has confirmed the topic was discussed with a company.
Supervisor Scott Silveira told KVPR and The Merced FOCUS that he spoke with a representative from a company who made an offer about library privatization during a conference in Los Angeles County.
The issue is significant because earlier this week dozens of concerned residents spoke during public comment at the Board of Supervisors meeting, demanding county leaders to protect their libraries from privatization.
Silveira told KVPR he attended the conference in November for the California State Association of Counties. Silveira said he met a vendor at the conference who told him the company could provide “better and more” library services in an efficient way.
Susan Walsh, an active member of the Friends of the Merced County Library, wrote the initial email March 17, which included a call to action.
“The Merced County Board of Supervisors is planning to close the library and privatize its services,” Walsh wrote. “Private is not public. Private is not free.”
In the email, Walsh alleged a “proposal” would be presented very soon, and “three out of the five supervisors” voiced support for it behind closed doors.
The Merced County Times later published an article that furthered the outrage many felt in the community over the prospect of the library system being privatized.
The Merced County Times article went viral on its Facebook page. As of Thursday evening, it amassed 135 shares and well over 100 comments. In it, Walsh said she found out about the proposal after a conversation with Supervisor Josh Pedrozo.
Although the county released a statement on Facebook addressing the rumors, residents expressed their disapproval by writing hundreds of postcards and emails to the supervisors, making dozens of calls, holding a rally before the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday and later voicing their thoughts during Pedrozo’s town hall meeting.
“It was a rumor that got blown way out of proportion in the attempt to be transparent,” Pedrozo told KVPR and The Merced FOCUS.
Supervisor says actions ‘speak louder than words’
Merced County officials worked in overdrive this week to dispel what they said was misinformation circulating online and in the community about the libraries.
County supervisors addressed the topic during the regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting and again later that evening at a town hall meeting.
“To be clear, the county’s libraries are not closing or being privatized,” Board Chair Pedrozo said before starting the public comment period at the morning board meeting. “Closing or changing the services that libraries provide has never been part of this conversation. Our goal is to not reduce library access or services but to improve them.”
KVPR reached out to county officials with specific questions related to the issue, but county officials did not respond.
Silveira later offered similar assurances and called the idea of library privatization a “nothing burger.” He also said it’s clear the county cares more about expanding public library services, pointing to the construction of a new building in Dos Palos, within his district, that would update the library’s facilities.
“I just encourage people to let our actions speak louder than our words,” Silveira said.
“We have been assured before, unofficially, that things were not going to happen – and they do.”
Susan Walsh, President of the Merced County League of Women Voters.
County officials have been looking at ways to cut costs in the budget since last year. Case in point, the county recently had to close some of its fire stations, as it struggled to address rising staff costs and meeting state minimum personnel requirements.
The Merced FOCUS reported in June the Board of Supervisors projected a $6.6 million shortfall. Tax revenue ultimately bridged the projected gap, but Merced County’s chief executive officer still showed concern for the rising cost of living and “costly state mandates.”
Pedrozo told KVPR that balancing the budget is harder than it used to be, but maintaining libraries in a community is important. Pedrozo’s wife is a librarian at Merced High School.
“Budgets are getting tighter and tighter,” Pedrozo said. “The library is almost like a sacred spot, and you don’t want to ever touch that but…. we always look for opportunities for savings.”
Despite the possibility of budget constraints, Pedrozo said while he’s in office, he won’t support privatizing library services.
“I can’t guarantee that any conversations won’t happen in the future. I mean, I might be long gone, and they could have a conversation on it,” Pedrozo said. “I can say, for as long as I’m on this board, I will not entertain any type of discussion like that.”
Rallying for the library
Before the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, a small group of residents held signs along the side of M Street, shouting to cars driving by, “Don’t sell the library! What’s next?”
The rally was part of a larger mobilization effort to safeguard public libraries. Residents in the community said they fear their libraries will shut down because of a historical trend that shows disinterest in the service.
For instance, The Los Angeles Times reported in 1993 Merced County shut down its entire library system because of a financial crunch. It was the largest library closure in California history, and 83 workers lost their jobs.
Two decades later, the Merced County Board of Supervisors voted to close four library branches, replacing each location with a Bookmobile, a mobile library with books and internet access.
Just two years ago, community outrage ignited after Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke publicly floated the idea of shutting the library down to direct more funds to the sheriff’s office.
Walsh, president of the Merced County League of Women Voters, served as a librarian and interim president of Merced College during her career. Merced County’s history of shuttering libraries is what sparked panic among residents, she told the FOCUS.
“We have been assured before, unofficially, that things were not going to happen – and they do,” Walsh said. “We’ve been assured before that the library is perfectly protected, and yet the issue shows up on an agenda.”
Still, Walsh said the large number of responses during public comment and in letters or emails shows how many people would be affected by a change or closure of the library.
“The library means something to them, and that’s reflected around this county by the tens of thousands [of people],” Walsh said.
That includes Salvador Sandoval, a retired physician who lives in Merced County. He held a sign at the rally before the board meeting to show his support for keeping the library public.
“[It’s] already difficult for a lot of people to enjoy things because there’s a price on everything,” Sandoval, 75, said. “Having something that we pay for with our own taxes should benefit us.”
The county chambers during the Board of Supervisors meeting were about three-fourths full of supporters for the public library system. Those that attended ranged from longtime educators to young parents who said the libraries benefited their kids.
Josefina Colond showed up at the town hall held at the Merced County Office of Education later in the day to support.
“Children use libraries, old people use libraries, we all use libraries,” Colond said. “It would be a decadent society without libraries.”
Amy Taylor, the county librarian, passed out flyers at the town hall with an annual report for the library. It showed 30,587 people in Merced County had a library card last year, and 3,113 programs involving everything from arts and crafts to English language learning were offered.
Taylor said she wasn’t involved in the conversation about the idea of privatization, but she was happy to hear people speak out about their enjoyment of the library and its services. She said it’s something she doesn’t hear often enough.
“We’re here to make a difference in our community, and some people might see it as small differences, but to the individual that we’re working with at that moment in time, it’s a huge impact, and it’s a big deal,” she said.
Meanwhile, some community members said they felt reassured by the supervisors’ response to their outcry.
Kathryn Shrum was at Tuesday’s town hall. She said she believes Pedrozo is on the community’s side, and privatization is not something that will happen – at least for now.
“He’s telling the truth,” Shrum said. “I appreciate what he said. I’m glad that he supports us because he does seem to feel the same way — that he doesn’t want to privatize, too.”
Central Valley Journalism Collaborative reporters Brianna Vaccari and Alma Villegas contributed to this story.
