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  • Evan Huwe, 6, looks at items he plans to check out of the Easton Branch Library in Burlingame, Calif. on Monday, Feb. 22, 2010. Proposed budget cuts in Burlingame would close this branch. (Dan Honda/Staff)

  • The Easton Branch Library in Burlingame, Calif. on Monday, Feb. 22, 2010. Proposed budget cuts in Burlingame would close this branch. (Dan Honda/Staff)

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Officials are asking residents to open their wallets to save the 67-year-old Easton Branch Library from becoming a budget casualty.

“We’re looking for Easton angels,” said city librarian Pat Harding.

City officials said they will solicit money from residents in hopes of keeping the library open for the next fiscal year, which begins in July, after holding a special Burlingame City Council meeting Friday dedicated to finding ways to fund the branch. Some of the 42 people who attended the meeting pledged $4,500.

Harding said that if the city cannot raise the full $70,000 needed for next year, it will likely pull money from somewhere else in the library budget.

“I’m confident we’re going to keep it open,” said Councilman Jerry Deal, who donated $1,000. “It’s ingrained into the soul of the community. A lot of adults remember growing up in that neighborhood and going there as child.”

The 2,800-square-foot library branch was slated for closure earlier this year because of budget cuts, although officials now say they are determined to keep it open.

The library at 1800 Easton Drive in north Burlingame serves about 800 people per week, including many from Hillsborough. It specializes in children’s materials, which represent 60 percent of the library’s circulation, and it hosts two story times per week. The Easton Branch Library, which is open 27 hours per week and has a monthly circulation of 6,116 books and other materials, is the city’s only alternative to the downtown main library.

Officials are still trying to find a more consistent form of long-term funding to ensure they are not stuck continually raising money or using budget tricks to keep the library safe. A few ideas have been mentioned, such as a “library-plus” card in which patrons would pay to have access to more materials.

The Burlingame Library Foundation hopes to raise $1 million to keep the branch open long term.

“Hopefully, people will rally to the cause,” said Stephen Hamilton, the foundation treasurer. “Obviously, these are tough times for everyone, but I think people recognize the importance of this library.”

The foundation hopes to set up an endowment, through which it would spend $6,000 per month to operate the branch. About a dozen library supporters plan to start asking residents how many hours they would like to help fund. The foundation has raised $2.5 million in 12 years.

Residents donated $130,000 to renovate the branch in 2004 and were helped by a $680,000 contribution from the trust fund of a Burlingame resident. The foundation also kicked in $230,000, and the city gave $90,000.

And twice before, in 1977 and before the 2004 retrofit, the library faced closure before residents rallied to raise more cash, foundation officials said.

Although the campaign to save Easton has not officially started, one resident has already donated $1,000, another pitched in $500 and Burlingame business owners have given $500.

“It’s one of the intangible assets that helps keep property values up, besides all the good cultural things that a library does,” said Councilman Michael Brownrigg. “As such, assets should be protected because they have long-term value.”

The campaign will start reaching out to the Burlingame Moms Club, the faith community and the five nearby Burlingame and Hillsborough schools whose students frequent the library, Harding said. The city may also designate volunteers as block captains who will go door to door asking for money.

More traditional ideas include mailers and fundraising events, and the foundation — which is a nonprofit — has set up a website for donations, at www.saveeastonbranch.org.

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