Yes on library Measures A and B

One only take a visit to the Los Altos main library to realize this is not your grandpa’s library anymore.

The dusty hardcover books and card catalogs of the past have long ago been replaced by videos, CDs, rows of computers with Internet - and catalog - access, and yes, thousands of up-to-date titles, fiction and nonfiction. Then there are magazine selections, back issues of various newspapers, community rooms for special events, story times for toddlers, a snack area - the options seem endless. And the great part of it is, it’s free and open to all of us.

Unfortunately, the Santa Clara County Library system, which includes the Los Altos main and Woodland branches, has been hit hard by county budget cuts in recent years, stemming, of course, from the state’s massive budget deficits.

Things could get worse. A 1994 parcel tax providing 20 percent of the library budget is set to expire in June. Voters’ failure countywide to approve a parcel tax increase last year forced Los Altos libraries to forego Monday hours.

However, Measures A and B, the subjects of a first-time write-in only ballot this month, stand to maintain and increase funding to bring back lost hours. Rather than ask for a flat increase, as with last year’s proposal, library supporters wisely took a two-step approac Measure A asks voters to retain the same parcel tax rate; Measure B asks to increase that rate by $12 annually. If voters approve A, but fail B, at least libraries will be able to maintain what they already have. Both measures need a two-thirds majority.

We urge passage of both (B needs passage of A to take effect). To put it in perspective, $12 doesn’t even cover a fast-food meal for a family of four anymore. Why not put this paltry yearly sum toward restoring full Monday hours? At other libraries, both Sunday and Monday hours would be restored under Measure B.

Given the strong support toward libraries by our local communities, one might suspect us of preaching to the choir. We are.

But the write-in ballots, while seemingly favorable to proponents, can also be forgotten - after all, residents have a full month to send in the ballots.

We urge residents not to take our historically strong support for granted. Fill out and mail in your ballots right away and hope the current campaign push in other communities will be effective enough this time to attain a collective two-thirds majority.

No other institution serves the entire demographic of our communities the way libraries do. It only makes sense that a place serving such a wide range of people be open as much as possible to accommodate diverse needs.

Our libraries have come a long way. Let’s continue to make them the best bargain around.