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All over Orange County, more and more people are visiting county libraries.
Selina Orozco visits the Westminster Public Library a few times a month, enjoying both the ease of wirelessly printing her paperwork and the delight her young son finds in the branch’s children’s events like storytime.
Orozco is among those contributing to the 32% visitor increase to the Orange County Public Library (OCPL) Westminster branch in 2023, which saw over 109,000 patrons, the highest growth among all county branches that year.
Editors’ Note: This dispatch is part of the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service, working with student journalists to cover public policy issues across Orange County. If you would like to submit your own student media project related to Orange County civics or if you have any response to this work, contact admin@voiceofoc.org.
Westminster’s recent renovations, which included the addition of more accessible spaces and new furniture, played a crucial role in the library’s increased visitation.
“This library is definitely a Westminster staple,” she said.
However, Orozco wishes Westminster’s branch was more welcoming to kids.
“Have you been to Huntington Beach’s library? It’s huge, and their kid’s section is very inviting,” she said. “I’d love to see some more toys here at Westminster for my son.”
Resources like toys may be on the chopping block if Irvine officials decide to exit the county library system and withdraw millions of dollars.
OCPL’s largest funder, the city of Irvine, has been discussing withdrawing from the county system and establishing itself as the next city library system. That plan, which has been in the works since February 2023, would cut about 28% from OCPL’s $85 million budget.
[Read: Irvine Looks To Leave County Library Network, Kicking Off Fight for Funds]
Westminster isn’t the only library in the county system whose attendance has skyrocketed. At least half of OCPL libraries have seen a growth in visitation from 2022 to 2023, with branches like Foothill Ranch Public Library seeing a 22% increase and the Costa Mesa Donald Dungan branch having a 17% visitor increase, according to records sent from OCPL.
Irvine Heritage Park, Tustin Public Library and Garden Grove Main Library were OCPL’s top three most popular branches in 2023. That year, Irvine Heritage Park welcomed about 320,700 visitors, Tustin saw about 221,900 and Garden Grove Main had about 186,000 patrons.
The next three most popular OCPL branches in 2023 included Irvine University with 174,179 visitors, Costa Mesa Donald Dungan with 165,663 and Aliso Viejo Library with 130,200 visitors.
Bigger cities often have more popular libraries, like Irvine, which has over 303,000 residents and Garden Grove with over 168,000 residents.
That’s not always the case. The city of Tustin only has about 77,700 residents, but it had the second-most attended county library in 2023.
Danilo Serranilla, OCPL’s marketing and communications manager, attributes a branch’s popularity to various factors, including the library’s programming and collection as major contributors to attendance.
“Events for all ages, book clubs, author talks and workshops build community and attract visitors,” Serranilla said. “Also, having a well-curated collection spanning various genres, languages and formats keeps patrons coming back.”
The Post-Pandemic Reshaping of OC Libraries
Libraries across Orange County have seen transformations in the past few years following the pandemic.
Laguna Woods branch finally opened a space of its own in January after years of operating behind a counter in city hall.
Officials in the Placentia Library District, a city system, have been planning to create a Freedom to Read Committee in response to book bans, according to library director Jeanette Contreras.
As Newport Beach Public Library continues to receive complaints on which children’s books should and should not be on display, Huntington Beach Public Library is seeking privatization for a similar reason.
Huntington Beach’s City Council approved the process for privatizing their city library management and creating a book review group in late March, with the hopes of blocking what they claim as “sexual” content in children’s books.
In early May, the council’s Democratic minority attempted to instead place the issue on the November ballot for residents to make the final decision. The action would have let voters decide if they wanted to move forward with having a private company take over managing the public library.
But the Republican majority shot down the move, saying they wanted to study the issue and get more information on how to save the city some money on library management.
[Read: Huntington Beach Leaders Shoot Down Putting Library Outsourcing on the Ballot]
Huntington’s central branch, part of the city’s library system, is Orange County’s most visited library, seeing over 503,000 visitors from 2022 to 2023, according to Jennifer Carey, Huntington Beach’s public affairs manager.
Chris Slama, Irvine’s director of community services, confirmed over the phone that privatization is not in Irvine’s plans.
Irvine’s Next Chapter – Why Leave OCPL?
Irvine Councilmember Kathleen Treseder confirmed in a phone call with student journalists that the city council and members of the county library system discussed Irvine’s departure in a May 14 closed session meeting.
“The three libraries we have are in need of major renovations,” she said during the phone call. “We’ve been hearing from residents that they can’t understand why we don’t have good libraries, especially given how much we have contributed to OCPL over the years.”
Treseder said she will be voting on the decision she thinks will best benefit Irvine’s three libraries for their locals.
“Residents will even go to libraries in Newport Beach instead, because of the renovations our Irvine libraries need,” she said. “I’m basing my vote on — ‘If we leave OCPL, will we be able to get those improvements?’”
The council has not yet taken a final vote on leaving the county library system. Adam Cavecche, a staffer for Councilmember Treseder, told Chapman students that city officials are trying to finalize the move by the end of this year.
How Will Irvine’s Exit Affect OCPL?
As the county’s libraries continue to see a rise in attendance, Irvine’s potential exit from the system could have lasting effects given the city’s financial contribution — 28% of the county library system’s property tax revenues, which is the highest among member cities.
According to Julie Quillman, OCPL’s county librarian, member cities’ property tax revenue made up about 86% of OCPL’s $85 million funding from 2022 to 2023.
Irvine’s departure would not only result in a significant financial loss estimated at around $20 million in taxpayer dollars but could also lead to a resource redistribution challenge for the remaining 29 branches.
Quillman highlighted the shared funding model, which has no separate budgeting for individual branches.
“There is no itemization of spending for our libraries at the branch level,” Quillman said. “The collection and all library services are shared by all cities (in the system).”
After reaching out for comment to the regional branch manager of Westminster Public Library, Tim Scott, he declined to share whether there had been an increase in resources or funds amid their higher attendance numbers, instead directing all inquiries to be made to Serranilla.
Does OCPL Have a Plan If Irvine Leaves?
As Irvine moves to re-discuss and possibly finalize their plans, the question remains: How will OCPL adjust its operations and resource allocation to compensate for the potential financial shortfall while continuing to meet the elevated demands of its patrons?
In a phone call with Serranilla, he confirmed they haven’t planned how to handle this potential loss yet.
“That’s something we’re still waiting on since negotiations are still ongoing,” he said.
Quillman, like Serranilla, did not go into detail.
“OCPL’s mission to empower and enrich our communities remains paramount,” Quillman wrote over email.
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