Centennial Park Branch Library Faces Final Chapter

by Kevin Wiatrowski/ The Tampa Tribune
August 26, 2009

HOLIDAY - Pasco County commissioners may sacrifice Centennial Park Branch Library, the first county-financed public library, to keep Pasco's other libraries open five days a week.

Commissioners' other option is to rotate staff between Centennial Park and the nearby South Holiday library, opening each on alternating weekdays. They'd both operate short-staffed on Saturdays.

Library Services Director Linda Allen will spell out those options in more detail at the county's next budget workshop Sept. 1 in Dade City.

Either option would take effect Oct. 1 with the county's fiscal 2010 budget.

Closing 21-year-old Centennial Park would shift its 28,700 regular patrons to South Holiday, doubling the burden on that newer but smaller branch.

The two libraries are about two miles from each other - Centennial Park on Moog Road, South Holiday on Mile Stretch - both residential neighborhoods.

Closing Centennial Park, however, could still pose a problem for some patrons.

"Even though they're so close together, we have a lot of people who use only one," Allen said.

The prospect of closing Centennial Park arose during commissioners' budget workshop with county staffers this week. It reverses commissioners' earlier opposition to closing any libraries as they try to close a $36 million budget hole for fiscal 2010.

Pasco County has seven county-owned libraries. New Port Richey and Zephyrhills have their own libraries.

The closing is among a host of changes Allen has proposed to cut costs.

Allen told commissioners she plans dramatic cuts to the libraries' offerings. Sixteen online databases popular with student researchers will disappear. The county will buy fewer paperbacks, fewer periodicals and no DVD movies or audiobooks.

"We are not looking to make sure there's something on every topic in the library," Allen said.

Maintenance of equipment will be done in-house, and landscaping work will be cut by about two-thirds, she said.

Also on the horizon are the elimination of library-sponsored events for adults, fewer activities for teens and children and cutting the summer reading program.

Commissioners could appropriate $408,000 in new taxes to keep the library system as is. The money would fill 18 of 32 empty jobs, but it wouldn't expand hours curtailed last year. Those cuts closed libraries on Mondays.

Outside the Centennial Park library Thursday morning, Cathy Tobias made a sour face after hearing the library might close.

"This is real close to my home," Tobias said, who lives within walking distance. "We use this library all the time."

The prospect of closing Centennial Park library was quickly followed by concerns the empty building could become a target for vandals. County officials said they would consider moving employees from leased space into the empty library if it is abandoned.

Commissioners quashed Allen's proposal to rotate staff between the New River library in Wesley Chapel and the Hugh Embry library in downtown Dade City.

That strategy was seen as a way to keep each library open at least part-time, but commissioners felt the 14 miles between them posed an obstacle for many of their patrons.

Commissioners want both libraries open full-time.

Commissioners also asked County Administrator John Gallagher to search the county's construction funds for money that could build a library in Trinity to replace Centennial Park.

The most likely site is on county-owned land next to a new fire station on Trinity Boulevard, but it's unclear when or if that library could be built.