New library packs the house — and the board starts counting the cost

Holding its first meeting in the new library's own community room, the Larkspur Library Board spent much of Monday night on a happy problem: the building is busier than the staff can comfortably handle. Director Damon reported that in the first two weeks since opening, seating has run at near-maximum capacity, the 32-space parking lot has been full, and circulation is up as returns flow in from across the Marin library system. Workflow at the new circular service desk — book processing and managing lines — is still being sorted out.

“We took this big step up in footprint, in caliber, in so many aspects of functionality. And what has not grown is the staff or the hours.”— a Library Board member, on the new building's demands

The staffing math is the sticking point. The library has four full-time staff and a budget for five days a week, with no funding for a fifth day, let alone the six-day schedule (adding Monday) that came up in discussion. Damon said the crew is feeling the strain, and board members drew a straight line between the building's new scale and the unchanged payroll. Damon put the old library at 3,300 square feet against roughly 9,000 square feet now — in the neighborhood of Corte Madera (9,100) and Fairfax (9,600). Options floated included fundraising or foundation support for added hours and hiring part-time or student pages for shelving.

Community feedback since opening ran along the same lines. Damon said hours — especially evenings and Saturday afternoons — are the dominant theme in emails, followed by a sense that the book collection looks smaller, though nobody has named missing titles. The rest is a wish list: a bulletin board for community news, outdoor shade, coat hooks in the bathrooms, more trash cans, chess tables outside. Staff may convene a listening session in May or June.

The board asked for numbers to back the case: seating occupancy, parking use, circulation, library card issuance and foot traffic. Damon presents the library budget to the City Council on May 6, a presentation that will also reference a Capital Improvement Program amendment for a donor-funded light sign (about $200,000) and a water feature near the library (about $50,000). The board's next meeting is June 1.

Friends of the Library plan a 3,000-book sale for June 6

Diana St. James of the Friends of the Library told the board the Book Brigade opening event cost about $1,500, covered by a Community Foundation grant, drew 50 volunteers and sold out quickly. Next up is a used book sale in the new community room on June 6.

“Our goal would be we probably would hope to have about 3,000 books here that day that we could sell and hopefully earn somewhere between $5,000 and $7,000 from this first sale.”— Diana St. James, Friends of the Library

The goal: roughly 3,000 books priced $1 to $4, plus a possible $10 early-access fee, raising $5,000 to $7,000 — and trimming the roughly $500 a month the Friends spend on two storage units holding some 6,000 books. Board members suggested tiered VIP passes (one floated 10 passes at $100 apiece for a half-hour head start) and recommended consulting Barbara Friday of the Women's Club rummage sale on crowd management, plus tying proceeds to the children's collection or summer reading.

Separately, the board voted unanimously to create recognition certificates for Diana St. James and Chris Linhardt for organizing the Book Brigade. Members debated nominating one of them to the City Council for Citizen of the Year but agreed that should be pursued by individuals, not as a board action.