As California faces a staggering budget shortfall, library cardholders could soon lose the ability to get free passes to more than 200 state parks, including popular destinations near Los Angeles.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed budget for next year does not include funding for what is known as the California State Library Parks Pass, which was launched two years ago to provide more equitable access to the outdoors. A survey of people who used the passes found that most identified as low-income and people of color.
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If it ends, “it would be sad because obviously some of our customers are really enjoying it.” [the passes]”said Shellie Cocking, head of collections and technical services at the San Francisco Public Library.
The passes, which provide free daytime parking at participating parks, have been picked up more than 2,500 times at all 28 San Francisco branches since July 2022. The largest number of pickups were at the Main Library, near the notoriously gritty neighborhood of the Tenderloin.
In April 2022, the California State Library and California State Parks launched the three-year pilot program that delivered passes (hangtags that attach to a vehicle's rearview mirror) to all public library branches nationwide. state, including mobile libraries.
Cocking herself used a pass in the program's early days to visit Hendy Woods, a state park near Anderson Valley noted for its majestic old-growth redwoods. Several families, including hers, went together and brought her children.
“It's a really different experience than San Francisco,” Cocking said. “It really gives kids a different view of the world, being able to connect with nature.”
California State Parks said in a statement that they were “very proud” of the program, but did not indicate that a revised version of the budget coming in May would include money to extend the program.
However, the department said it was “exploring potential partnerships with park support organizations to continue the California State Library Parks Pass where possible.”
The funding omission comes as the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office projects a state budget deficit of $73 billion, an estimate that has jumped by $15 billion since last month.
The library's park pass and two other outdoor initiatives received one-time funding of $9.1 million over three years. The other initiatives, however, remain funded and include free adventure passes to California state parks for fourth graders and their families, and Golden Bear passes for families enrolled in CalWORKs, the state's public assistance program.
With the library program in jeopardy, the California State Parks Foundation, a large advocacy group, has raised a rallying cry to try to save it, writing to legislative leaders and publishing a petition that has garnered 1,800 signatures.
Rachel Norton, executive director of the foundation, said funding for the project was a “drop in the bucket” relative to the state's proposed $291.5 billion budget.
“This is such a good program,” he said, “and it's so affordable in the context of the state budget that it seems crazy not to continue doing it.”
A survey of the program released in October, which was administered by State Parks and supported by the foundation, found that 63% of participants considered cost to be their main reason for not having visited state parks before.
Nearly 70% of respondents reported an income of $60,000 or less and more than 63% indicated they are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color).
A surprising 90% of respondents said they now plan to visit state parks more than seven times a year.
“This benefits exactly the populations we want to feel most welcome and make the parks accessible to them,” Norton said.
The passes allow day-use parking for vehicles seating nine or fewer people or motorcycles, state officials said.
Parking fees can be daunting even for people with average incomes in expensive cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. For example, parking at the scenic Malibu Creek State Park, just 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles, costs $12 per day.
Until last year, each library branch in California had an average of 24 hangtags, down from just four, state officials said. Cocking said San Francisco has 611 passes in circulation, a number that increased significantly last year.
Residents with library cards can check out the passes for a certain number of days allowed by their local library before they need to be returned.
Librarians said the passes are particularly popular during the spring and summer, when warm weather and holidays draw people to the Golden State's great outdoors.
It's “like travel books,” Cocking said. “Travel books stay on the shelves for much of the year and then, as summer approaches, they are all removed.”
If the program is not renewed, the passes in circulation will remain active through the rest of 2024, Norton said.
