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Extracted from Consolidated Report

This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.

Nevada County Grand Jury • 2007-2008

The Libraries of Nevada County Reason for Investigation The Nevada County Grand Jury (Jury) investigated the Nevada

Published: September 04, 2008 8 pages

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⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.

⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.

Findings 15 findings

The Nevada County Libraries are currently in the Group 3 category with populations of 100,000 to 150,000.

The branches offer numerous varieties of volumes including books, magazines, newspapers, audio books, video recordings, music recordings, as well as internet services at all branches. The historical branch mainly carries items such as census THE LIBRARIES OF NEVADA COUNTY Page | 1 indexes, genealogy records, various maps, past newspapers, vital records, assessor’s maps, and extensive information on local history.

All branches are vigorously used by the public with total annual circulation in excess of 652,000 volumes. This number is expected to increase by 10% this year.

The libraries offer many free programs intended to stimulate an interest in reading and promote cultural awareness and literacy.

Children’s services are also available and several branches offer special hours and programs for children.

Volunteers are a tremendous asset to the libraries for special programs and fund raising.

Increased hours at the Penn Valley branch in the form of an additional day of operation with afternoon hours have improved utilization.

The Bear River branch, which also serves as the Bear River High School library, is open to the public when school is not in session.

The Bear River branch has a “sandwich board” type of sign that is displayed infrequently and therefore lacks consistent/effective signage that shows the location of hours that can easily be seen This is especially ineffective as the branch is available to the public during non-school hours only..

F10

Lack of physical storage and display space within the Truckee, Grass Valley and Madelyn Helling branches results in problems managing computer access stations, card catalog features, and the general mobility of books and accessories. Safety codes require the anchoring of bookcases therefore they are limited to places where they can be anchored.

F11

Available parking is a problem at most of the branches.

F12

The libraries have an inter-branch system of transferring volumes between each other on a special order basis. However, the Truckee branch has a system that uses UPS shipping and can take up to a week to pick up and deliver to other branches. This creates a storage problem at the Truckee branch that is already stretched to the limit on space.

F13

The libraries encourage promotion of personnel from within to the different levels of qualifications in the system.

F14

A recently negotiated salary increase has brought all the staff to a more equitable level in comparison with surrounding county libraries. There are cost of living increases for the term of the contract.

F15

The libraries have 28.6 full time equivalent employees. This is the same number as reported in the 2005/2006 Jury report. THE LIBRARIES OF NEVADA COUNTY Page | 2 CONCLUSIONS

Recommendations 4

R1

The Board of Supervisors should fund for additional library staff as necessary to enable for more hours among the branches and fund more needed literacy programs.
R2

The Jury confirms the recommendations of the 2005/2006 Jury that The Board of Supervisors should continue to support the Nevada County Library by augmenting the Library General Fund as specific needs are defined, such as ways to increase space needed.
R3

The Board of Supervisors should maintain and improve the state and conditions of the county’s libraries by ensuring they are an integral part of the county’s Capital Facilities Master Plan.
R4

The Bear River branch should erect a clear and visible sign indicating location and hours of operation for the branch located within the high school. RESPONSES Board of Supervisors September 4, 2008 THE LIBRARIES OF NEVADA COUNTY Page | 3

Conclusions 7

CL1 Page 3

There is a lack of adequate space for materials and programs within the Truckee, Grass Valley, and Madelyn Helling branches.
CL2 Page 3

The libraries, based on similar statewide numbers reviewed, now fall more in line with median numbers within the state in terms of salaries, as compared to the salaries reviewed in the 2005/2006 Grand Jury report.
CL3 Page 3

The library’s staff of 28.6 full time equivalent employees is the same as reported by the 2005/2006 Grand Jury. This does not provide for the increased usage in the form of more staffing and hours to accommodate increasing population.
CL4 Page 3

The libraries strive to promote from within benefiting from qualified staff people very familiar with the branches in which they work.
CL5 Page 3

The Bear River branch cannot be easily located nor hours of operation determined as the result of poor signage.
CL6 Page 3

Support from the community in the form of volunteers is a critical element to the libraries ability to provide the many services currently available.
CL7 Page 3

Present staffing appears to be adequate to maintain only the current hours of operation.

No Responses Found 1

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

Nevada County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office