Monterey County Free Libraries seeking $300,000 from cannabis tax revenue in order to buy books

The Monterey County Free Libraries say there’s no money in next year’s budget to buy any books, and hope the county will approve their request for $300-thousand generated by marijuana tax revenues.

25% of Monterey County residents read below the fourth grade level, and yet county libraries are dealing with a shrinking book budget.

“If you have to wait 6-8 months for a best seller, why would you wait? We are really losing readers that way,” said Monterey County Free Libraries Director, Jayanti Addleman

Monterey County Free Libraries is made up of 17 branches, and has a total operating budget right around $10-million do a year.

“It really only pays for the basics; which is rents, maintaining our facilities, benefits, supplies, that kind of stuff. Our book budget has progressively gone down over the year,” said Addleman.

And in fiscal year 2019 there is no money in the budget to buy new books.

“Because just trying to make ends meet and not close branches down. It is really important for us to be in all our communities. We have no money in the budget for books,” said Addleman.

So they’ve put in a request for $300-thousand dollars from the millions generated by marijuana taxes.

“It’s a basic necessity. For the library to function they need the ability to buy books,” said Foundation for the Monterey County Free Libraries Executive Director, Julia foster.

And the public agrees.

“In the recent survey that went out to find out where the money should go from the cannabis funds, it was very clear that the library was front and center,” said Foster.

But for now, Monterey County Free Libraries and the 600-thousand who use their services are at the mercy of the board.

“I would like to encourage people to contact their County Supervisors to let them know how strongly they feel about supporting the libraries with cannabis funds, so that the library gets the funding they so well deserve,” said Foster.