Easton Branch Library

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The Easton Branch Library, located at 1800 Easton Drive, Burlingame has been part of the Burlingame Library system since 1942, when it was first leased, and later acquired, from the North Burlingame Women’s Club. 

Over the past 60 years, the library has served as a neighborhood resource frequented by many of the children from the surrounding 7 schools, as well as the local elderly and those who prefer to walk to their local library.

Twice in the past 30 years the library has been threatened with closure, first in 1977 shortly after Proposition 13 passed, and more recently when an extensive retro-fit was required for structural repairs and seismic security.  In both occasions the community rallied to raise the necessary funds and support to maintain the library. In 2004 the community raised over $900,000 to almost fully fund the extensive rebuilding of the library.

Library Threatened

Now with the City’s current budgetary challenges the Easton Branch Library is threatened once again. Although the City Council members have indicated that they are all in favor of finding cuts elsewhere in the budget, they are also reaching out to the community to find ways to raise the necessary $70,000 annual operating funds.

The Burlingame Library Foundation is working with the City Manager, council members, faith communities, schools and the public to address the short term and the long term funding requirements that meet the community’s wishes for the continued operation of the Easton Library. 

Join Team Easton Today

The public can make donations specifically for the Easton Branch Library through the Burlingame Library Foundation, either via this website or by sending donations directly to the foundation offices at 480 Primrose Road, Burlingame, CA 94010. Checks should be made payable to the Burlingame Library Foundation and clearly marked ’Easton Library Fund’.  The Burlingame Library Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) charity.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Team Easton

Q. What is “Team Easton”?

A. Team Easton is a coalition of Burlingame and Hillsborough residents who love our libraries – both the main library and Easton branch – and are committed to raising $70,000 by December 2010  to maintain library services through June 2011. 

Q. Ouch. Why do we have to raise $70,000?

A. To balance next year’s budget, the Burlingame City council must cut $3,100,497 from our town’s $33,670,180 budget. That means the Library’s budget is shrinking by $445,305. We have come up with ways to shrink the Library’s budget through hiring freezes and cutting the number of books we buy—but we’re still $70,000 short. That happens to be the cost of running Easton.

Q. If we don’t raise the money, will Easton close?

Not completely. The City Council members have agreed they will NOT completely close Easton if the budget is short. But the Library will have to save the money somehow.  If we fail to raise at least $70,000, the Library will likely have to cut hours at both the main branch and at Easton, probably by closing on Sundays.

Q: What about the Library Foundation? Doesn’t it raise money for the Library?

A. Absolutely. The Foundation has already pledged to contribute $110,000 this year to support the Libraries. In fiscal year 2010/2011, the Foundation and the Trustees of the Library are committed to providing all the funds for purchasing new books and materials for both libraries. Sadly, we still need more. Team Easton focuses on the specific goal of raising enough funds to cover the current $70,000 shortfall. People who belong to the Foundation and to the Library Board of Trustees are working on Team Easton, too. Your donation will be accepted by the Burlingame Library Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) charity.

Q. Is the Foundation also raising money for a computer lab? Why do that now?

A.  Yes. The Foundation has started a campaign to raise $100,000 to turn the periodical storage shelves, on the lower level of the library, into a computer lab. Our current fleet of computers are fully occupied. We have no place to offer classes and programs on computers. This effort aims to ensure the Library stays relevant to the needs of our patrons.

 Q. How do I know that money donated to “Team Easton” will be used to keep the doors open?

A. Any donations designated as for “Team Easton” will be put into a special fund exclusively used to support Easton’s operation.

Q. How can we avoid going through this again next year?

A. There are no guarantees. However, if we raise more than $70,000 this year, we can begin to establish an endowment for Easton that will take the branch off the chopping block during future budget negotiations.

Q. How do I join Team Easton?

A. That’s the spirit! You can write a check to the Burlingame Library Foundation and clearly mark that it is for “Team Easton.” You can also make a donation on the website, www.teameaston.org. And please encourage your neighbors and friends to help join this effort.

A little community spirit will go along way. Join “Team Easton” because open library doors create open minds!

Facts About the Easton Branch Library

• Easton currently serves 160 people a day or 800 people a week.
• Circulation of materials at Easton has gone up 160% from 2,502 a month to 6,507 a month in 2009.  It is now 6,116 a month since closing on Fridays beginning May 1, 2009.
• 60% of the circulation at Easton is for Children’s materials.
• Easton is staffed primarily by part-time staff for $49,500.
• Easton’s material budget is $16,000.
• The cost of operating the branch is 1.92% of the library’s budget.
• Easton has 2 story times a week, including an evening story time.  The average attendance at Easton’s story times is 40.
• Easton does 12 class visits a year.
• Children walk to Easton from the local schools – OLA, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Franklin.
• Easton was renovated in 2004 with funding from the Thomas Z. Marshall Trust - $680,000, the Duncan Trust Fund - $130,00, members of the community and the Foundation - $230,000, and $90,000 from the City.
• Easton is a community library service where young and old can walk to their neighborhood branch.
• Easton has been designed to be primarily self-service and operates with two staff people and an occasional page at any given time.
• For more than 65 years Easton, opened as a library in 1942, has provided a particular type of neighborhood library service.  Many patrons walk to the branch, and the residential location is highly valued by older people and young families with children.
• Real estate companies advertise proximity to the Easton Branch in their advertising literature, and young families moving into our neighborhoods supply the tax revenue that supports our many city services.
• Research shows that cities with a high public library circulation of books have correspondingly higher school test scores, regardless of parental education and income.
• Burlingame citizens value this service enough that they invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to rebuild the Easton Branch to insure that the historic building and this vital service survive and thrive.  This reflects the value that citizens place in Branch Library service.  Their investment should be honored.
• Libraries are infrastructure and valuable assets.  This piece of infrastructure has just been thoroughly refurbished and updated (with mainly contributed funds).  Easton Branch is an asset to preserve in accordance with the intentions of the generous public who invested in its future.

You can read more about the history of the Easton Branch library at the Burlingame Historical Society’s website