Trustees ask city and council to boost library collections funding by $4,000 per month

The Escondido Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously to send a formal request to city management and the Escondido City Council asking for an immediate increase of $4,000 per month to the library collections budget.

Trustee John (identified in the meeting as a board member) moved the request, describing historical context that the collections budget has lagged behind prior years and national averages. Reno, library staff, and trustees cited past practice in which Friends groups and the board supplemented collections, and noted the current contract with Library Systems & Services (LS&S) runs through June 30, 2026. Heidi Dalimore, vice president of operations for Library Systems & Services, addressed trustees and said contract approaches to collections funding vary by jurisdiction and that operational/collections budgets are handled differently in different contracts.

Trustees discussed short-term and long-term options. Several trustees said they would prefer the city to act now rather than have the board tap trust funds; Reno said staff will pursue next steps with the city manager’s office and confirm the route to present the request to council. Trustees suggested interim uses if an immediate increase were approved — for example, prioritizing digital services while the library is in a temporary mall location — but staff cautioned about purchasing large physical shipments before the library reopens in March because of storage and transport costs.

A motion that the board “strongly encourages the city of Escondido and the City Council to increase the library’s collection funding by $4,000 a month as soon as possible” was made, seconded and approved on the record. The motion was recorded as approved by the board; staff said they would contact the city manager’s office to determine the formal process for transmitting the request to council and would provide guidance to trustees about whether a formal letter or board representatives should appear at council.

Heidi Dalimore (vice president of operations, Library Systems & Services) told trustees that contract terms on collections escalation vary and that some jurisdictions establish annual collection budgets in real time rather than through automatic escalators. Reno and trustees emphasized that any additional general-fund money would come through the city’s budget process if council approves.

The board also discussed tracking digital-service metrics (Hoopla, Libby/Sora and Link+), and trustees asked staff for more detailed, year-over-year statistics to support any budget request.