The Board President of the Pacifica Library Foundation described the city’s facility as woefully inadequate during a recent television interview.
Eric Ruchames told Pacifica Currents host Steve Johnson in an episode that aired last month that the library’s offerings aren’t measuring up to the standards of neighboring communities that have seen a proliferation of 21st Century facilities over the last decade or so.
Ruchames cited a needs assessment his group commissioned along with the city, the San Mateo County Library System, and the Pacifica Friends of the Library.
The interview can be viewed online.
“That (needs assessment) allowed us to compare Pacifica to other communities of similar size and similar, what they call a ‘service population,’ because the library serves beyond just the (city boundaries),” Ruchames said.
“It was a real eye-opener because these were an independent group of people. It wasn’t advocates on our side saying we want this or that, it was people whose expertise was this line of work and they went into other libraries, in other communities to see what current standards are.”
And to say that Pacifica has failed to meet those standards would be an understatement, he said, noting that the city’s facility fell short in all of its offerings, from books and CDs to computers and chairs.
Even parking spaces.
“In virtually every category we had about one third of what a community of our size should have,” Ruchames said.
“It was pretty disheartening, in fact one of our council members who was at the (needs assessment) presentation commented that it was embarrassing the level of service that we were able to provide for our community and how we needed to provide what other communities have.”
Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook |Sign up for our daily newsletter | Blog for us
