Supervisors back expanded hours at Visitation Valley and Portola libraries; committee declines analyst's policy cuts

City Librarian Luis Herrera told the Budget and Finance Committee that the San Francisco Public Library concurs with most analyst reductions but does not agree with policy recommendations that would remove staffing tied to two new branch openings and additional hours at Visitation Valley and Portola. The positions at issue were described as two custodian/library page/library tech assistant positions totaling roughly 2.5 full-time equivalents to enable additional hours at the two branches.

Chair Carmen Chu and Supervisors Cohen and Avalos publicly endorsed protecting the staffing needed to expand hours. Supervisor Kim moved to disapprove the analyst's policy recommendation and keep the positions so the branches can open with the planned hours. The library said it will undertake a charter-directed analysis of hours in each district, coordinate with the Controller's Office on data and engage the community through outreach and surveys during the fall so future hour adjustments can reflect neighborhood needs.

The committee accepted the analyst's recommendations where the department concurred and did not adopt the specific policy reductions that would have precluded the hours expansion. The chair asked library staff to work with the committee on further opportunities for hours expansion across the system.

The committee did not take a separate recorded roll call on the library policy item; the chair handled the motion and it was noted as moved and taken without objection for the items agreed to.