DC Public Library Budget Is Cut 11 Percent
Sunday branch hours eliminated
Lynn Blumenstein -- Library Journal, 09/21/2009
- Central library open all year on Sundays
- Librarians, not bookmobile, to visit schools
- Director urges use of volunteers
The District of Columbia Public Library’s (DCPL) FY10 budget cut of nearly 11 percent involves inevitable service cuts. With some $4.8 million less than FY09 (the budget is now $40 million), hours will be reduced at all locations. All changes are effective October 1, the beginning of the fiscal year.
Service cuts affect hours every day of the week. Neighborhood libraries will no longer be open on Sundays and all libraries will be closed on Monday holidays. Instead, the Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. Memorial Library (accessible by Metro), closed on Sundays during the summer, will be open year-round on Sundays. MLK will see reduced Monday and Tuesday hours, opening at noon instead of 9:30 a.m., and closing at 9 p.m.
The "Sunday cut was an easy thing do," Robin Diener, who heads the DC Library Renaissance Project, a nonprofit founded by Ralph Nader that has often been critical of DCPL, told the Washington Post. "It's difficult to staff because Sundays are not popular among employees," she said. But, "they are very popular from the public's point of view."
Volunteers, new security system fill in gaps
While DCPL didn’t announce any staff cuts, according to DCPL chief librarian Ginnie Cooper, "volunteers can help augment the work of staff by helping to do things like shelve books, teach computer classes, or conduct workshops."
DCPL's bookmobile will no longer be used to visit schools, but librarians will continue to do so. A 24-hour fire and security monitoring system installed in the MLK library will allow security staff to be redirected to neighborhood libraries. Additionally, as of next month, the MLK library’s parking garage will no longer be available to the public.
