Submittal to the Board of Supervisors County of Riverside, State of California*

Recommendations 1

• R1
  That the County Librarian continue working on library hours of operation to 1. accommodate a larger segment of the population. RESPONSE: Increasing service hours has been a major priority since the County assumed direct oversight of its Library System. Since the inception of the contract through which Library Systems and Services operates County branches, hours have increased more than 30 percent. Patrons have seen additional increases in hours at the three Principal Reference Centers (Glen Avon, Temecula and Palm Desert); further such enhancements are underway at several of the larger community libraries throughout the County. Formal reviews of the Library System's performance indicate that customers' expectations for service hours are being met. Specific scheduling of open hours is done in close coordination with member cities...yet another indicator of the County Library System's strong partnership with local communities. It's also important to point out that the quality/currency of library materials is of equal importance to the number of hours libraries are open. In that area, the County Library has also made great strides. The Fiscal Year 1997-98 contract saw more than a three- fold increase in the materials budget as compared to the previous year. Successive years have shown additional jumps in the materials budget of 33% (FY 98-99) and 50% (FY 99-00) over spending in the prior year. The last three years have truly marked the renaissance of the Riverside County Library System. The Board of Supervisors takes pride in the accomplishments made to date, and looks forward to ongoing enhancement of all services provided to library patrons. •