Pittman Branch of Henderson Libraries permanently shuttered

By Jeremy Twitchell

Published Thursday, March 19, 2009 | 11:30 a.m.

Updated Thursday, March 19, 2009 | 3:22 p.m.

The Henderson Libraries' Board of Directors unanimously voted Thursday morning to permanently close the Pittman Branch in an effort to trim costs against declining revenues.

Henderson Libraries Executive Director Tom Fay said the system will maintain a small collection and continue to offer literacy programs and other services at the Boys and Girls Club in the same building, while looking for a larger, permanent site for the branch to move into when financially possible.

"This is not something we are doing that is going to be leaving this area completely," Fay said.

The branch was open four days a week for a total of 16 hours. It was located near Boulder Highway and Sunset Road at 1608 Moser Drive. It saw decreases in usage in recent years, Fay said. On average, only 7.5 percent of its collection was checked out, compared to 26 to 33 percent at the system's other branches, he said.

Fay said the Library District began discussions about closing the branch last month after property tax revenues fell off more sharply than expected.

The Pittman closure is just the first of several possible cuts that the Henderson Libraries may have to make, Fay said. In future weeks, the Board will likely be asked to consider cutting out three small deposit libraries it operates at assisted living facilities. It's also likely the bookmobile won't operate this summer, Fay said.

"None of them are pleasant decisions," Fay said. "Unfortunately, in this situation, we need to look at the services that are peeling off resources that we just don't have."

Fay said the cuts don't stop there. Employees systemwide will not be getting pay increases this year, and out of respect for that, he declined Thursday a four percent pay increase that was contractually due to him after a 95 percent favorable rating on his annual performance evaluation.

"None of our people are getting raises this year, so neither should I," he said.

Employees of the district's outreach program, which operated the Pittman Branch for the 16 hours a week it was open, will focus their efforts on other part-time facilities like the Galleria Branch, the future Heritage Senior Center Branch, the bookmobile and various other community programs.

The branch's equipment and collection will be spread amongst the system's other five branches.

Fay said the Pittman Branch closed Feb. 27 after a serious fight outside and remained closed pending the board's vote. He said the site occasionally had incidents like that, and would generally close for a week to 10 days afterward for safety reasons.

"We often do that ... so that any kind of retaliation that happens doesn't make its way into the library," Fay said.

Fay attributed the decline in usage at Pittman to the branch's location, but said the decision to close it was motivated purely by financial reasons, not security issues.

"This is not a failure of police," Fay said. "It's not a failure of the district or the library staff. It's a failure of where it's at."

Fay said closing the branch was a difficult decision, but said the upside is that it will allow the district to refocus on its remaining programs and locations.

"It's healthy," he said. "When things are moving along and there's lots of growth, you're doing all you can to meet that growth and there's not much time for infrastructure. This will allow us to focus on our infrastructure and, in the long run, it will allow us to better meet the needs of east Henderson."