San Diego Library Closures, Part III

The budget shortfall continues over here in San Diego, and yesterday I found myself, somewhat last minute, making preparations to attend the Special Joint Meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee and City Council Committee at the City Administration Building downtown. Having never witnessed a council chambers session before, I was a little unsure as to what I could contribute, but I thought it would be interesting to at least observe the proceedings.

So, I found a seat in chambers on the twelfth floor, and as reporters, council people and citizens began filing in, I kept glancing over at the little table near the door holding OPPOSE or SUPPORT forms for members of the public wishing to speak to fill out. And while I had no prepared text, I decided to fill out the form, with my name and address, and drop it into the speaker box near the podium. And then I quickly set about writing some remarks.

Mayor Jerry Sanders spoke, and then sat behind the speaker podium to take the heat. Councilwoman Donna Frye (who Jane and I have always wished had been our mayor), recently ousted City Attorney Mike Aguirre (who I have largely supported) and Councilman Kevin Falcouner, along with many others, hemmed and hawed over the budget details. And then the public began speaking. There were roughly forty speakers, each granted two minutes to address the mayor and the city council. Some calmly laid out specific rebuttals to how their respective community would be impacted (the fire and police departments were particularly well represented). Others made general pleas for children's programs or the city fabric. A few made extremely emotional presentations. One woman spoke rather ramblingly for a few minutes about being raised by nuns and how George W. Bush was not a true Christian (you always get one of those).

I chose to address the city's decision to close down those libraries deemed of "low use," a concept I challenged as inadequate when dealing with the many ways in which information is transmitted. I was gratified to receive a smattering of applause when I finished. I spoke around 11 AM, and the testimony and discussion continued until 5 PM.

I was pleased at the turnout and the passions on display. I would estimate that the vast majority of the attending public were there to show support for their libraries. I was also heartened by the fact that the city council specifically noted their reservations with the mayor's numbers of low circulation and library use, and requested specific figures rather than quick assurances. One of the key moments for me yesterday was hearing a council member discuss, somewhat pragmatically, how the "consequences of potential blight and public safety issues with temporarily shuttered facilities" should also be considered. It wasn't something I had even thought about. A library being considered a blight - what a fantastic metaphor for this city. There's no telling how much turnouts like these impact city decisions - the future does indeed look bleak for the financial health of San Diego. But how healthy can a city be that begins shutting down libraries?

By the way, for those curious, the City of San Diego does an excellent job of recording and making available video of these city council meetings, and with a little skipping around, you can easily view the proceedings and my two-minute speech. The link for the webcasts can be found here. Click on the "Video" link for November 12, 2008. Once it starts playing, you can skip ahead to wherever you'd like (the entire video file is nearly 6 hours, so believe me, you'll want to). My section begins at 2.07.40. You may not be able to land directly on that moment, but you'll be able to get close. And the woman who speaks right before I do is much more entertaining than I am, and well worth a viewing.