On borrowed time: Library budget disparities leaving poorer communities with less access

VISITING THE LIBRARY in the small town of Planada means visiting a bookmobile with no air conditioning in the sweltering heat of the San Joaquin Valley. But Sofia Rodriguez visits often, pulling her young children in their red wagon. The youngsters are bookworms who eagerly anticipate exchanging their library books for a stack of new ones.

It wasn’t long ago that the town of 4,100 had its own community library. But in 2014, weekly bookmobile stops replaced brick-and-mortar libraries in Planada and three other communities in Merced County. Citing budget woes, the County Board of Supervisors voted to shutter four library branches, leaving just 12 locations — half the number it once had.