Politics & Government

Library's Hours to be Reduced

Budget constraints are behind the move. The change will take affect after Labor Day, when summer hours end.

The has announced an 8 percent reduction in public service hours as of Friday, July 1, 2011, the start of the new fiscal year. The new hours, though, will begin after Labor Day weekend, as summer hours run for July and August.

As of July 1, the official hours the library will be open to the public are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday; a total of 58 hours a week. The change is being made in order to bring the library’s operating budget in line with the approved 2011/2012 town budget requirements.

The library's current hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday; a total of 64 hours a week.

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Summer hours for the library — the months of July and August — will be Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 1. The library will be closed on Sunday. Regular hours will resume after Labor Day weekend.

“The library’s public service hours have been decreasing steadily despite an increase in usage and program attendance," said Charmaine Glew, chairman of the library board in a press release. "Since 2008 the library’s operating hours have decreased by 10 hours a week. We are concerned that with reduced hours we won’t be meeting the needs of the community and we hope that this reduction will not be a long-term situation.”

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“This was an extremely difficult decision to make. We evaluated numerous scenarios and based on usage statistics determined that the least impact to the public would be if we opened one hour later during the week,” said Glew.

Back in February when department heads were presenting their budget requests to the board of selectmen, Simsbury Public Library Director Susan Bullock was asked how a tight budget would affect the library. She listed fewer hours as one possibility.

The library is committed to maintaining the same levels of service including summer reading and children’s programs, business and job seekers programs, self check out/in and Pronto books, officials said. 

For information or questions about the library’s hours and programs, contact Bullock at 860-658-7663 x 2107 or sbullock@simsburylibrary.info. The Simsbury Public Library is located at 725 Hopmeadow Street.


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