Recently in Library Department Category

Cajon High School students are scheduled to soon showcase original stories and poems written while participating in a program run by the San Bernardino City Unified School District and Cal State San Bernardino English department.

The program's name, CREW, stands for Creative wRiting Experimental Workshop. The reading event is scheduled to be held from 6 to 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at Norman F. Feldheym Central Library, 555 West Sixth Street.

From the Library Department:

Due to budget and staff reductions, the hours at the San Bernardino Public Library's branch hours have been further reduced. The hours for the Dorothy Inghram Branch Library, 1505 W. Highland Avenue, the Howard M. Rowe Branch Library, 108 E. Marshall Boulevard, and the Paul Villaseñor Branch Library, 525 N. Mt. Vernon Avenue are as follows:

Monday and Tuesday: 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday and Thursday: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Friday and Saturday: closed

The hours for the Norman F. Feldheym Central Library, 555 W. 6th Street, remain:

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Thursday and Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

A free reference service is available with librarians, 24/7 through the library's website, www.sbpl.org. Click on ASK NOW on the right hand side of the page.

For more information, please call 909.381.8215.

Here's a nugget found in a city document related to proposed budget cuts:

"Parks, Recreation and Community Services could be consolidated with the Library, Code Enforcement or other departments. The Parks Division could be maintained, separated or contracted out for increased beautification efforts. The merging of Library and Recreation (Community Services Department) would allow the shifting of satellite branches to the community centers. Determination for executive oversight or exploration of Recreation Services staffing would need to be determined. The elimination of support personnel in any departmental consolidation would also be General Fund savings."

The author of the proposal is not listed in the document. Any thoughts? Recreation and library services may mesh well but I wonder what people think about mixing code enforcement work to a department that's mission is essentially to provide residents with places to relax and have fun.

City officials are currently considering proposals to save money by laying off parks employees responsible for taking care of the city's parks and contracting for the service.

I was able to speak with 6th Ward Councilman Rikke Van Johnson after I had to turn in my contribution to the library story that will run in Thursday's edition.

Here's what Johnson had to say about the proposed budget cuts:

"There's a little bit of wiggle room right now, but very little," Johnson said. "I'll be talking to the City Manager about making sure I can do what I can to make sure Inghram doesn't close."

Inghram is one of three branch libraries that are slated for temporary closure under interim City Manager Mark Weinberg's proposal to solve a projected $9 million budget gap. Libraries that have closed previously in San Bernardino have not reopened.

Here is some reportage on the proposed cutbacks for San Bernardino's library system. Interim City Manager Mark Weinberg has proposed temporarily closing the city's three branch libraries as part of a cutback plan intended to solve a $9 million budget shortfall.

The process is not finished, so the final slate of budget cuts may be different from what Weinberg proposed. I get the sense that these kinds of processes start with a discussion of highly-undesirable cuts before officials scramble for alternatives that lessen the blow.

When San Bernardino began its budget talks last year, then City Manager Fred Wilson's initial plan included a provision to cut funding for crossing guards. Didn't happen.

But the economy is a lot worse now than it was last summer, so there's little chance for San Bernardino to avoid insolvency without making a lot of people upset. Popular services will be cut, but it's still open for question as to exactly where and how deep those cuts will be.

The library info is after the jump: