Library to boost its hours
Beginning Jan. 1, facility will be more accessible
By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
JessicaK@argusobserver.com
Saturday, November 7, 2009 10:17 PM PST
ONTARIO — Ontario resident Betty Oft said she keeps the schedule of the Ontario Community Library’s hours posted on her refrigerator so, when she gets the chance to go, she knows when it’s open.
Beginning in January, those hours will be increased three hours, from 27 a week to 30.
The Ontario Library District Board of Directors voted to boost the hours at Wednesday’s regular meeting, and the move will go into effect after Jan. 1.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Oft said, adding she doesn’t get to the library as often as she used to, but she still visits fairly frequently.
Ontario Community Library Assistant Librarian Tonya Ito agrees the additional hours will be welcome to many library patrons. She said people ask every day whether the library hours are going to increase and when that will happen.
Answering to those customers is part of what prompted the decision by the Library District Board, Ontario Community Library Head Librarian Darlyne Johnson said.
“Well, we know that the public is concerned where their money is going and stuff, so we wanted to see what we can do to increase the hours we’re open,” she said.
While additional hours for the library have always been, and continue to be, a goal for the board, board members initially wanted to wait because it was uncertain whether the budget would allow an increase. The district board still does not know how much it will receive from property taxes, and Johnson said she doesn’t know when the funds will be released.
Johnson said, however, because library patrons have been questioning staff, the board wanted to determine if that could happen sooner because they were cognizant additional hours were one of the reasons behind the creation of the library district.
“We realize that’s one of the things that we did promise, so we wanted to see where we could do it,” she said.
After some discussion, it was decided the library could remain open for three additional hours — an extra hour on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday — without too much strain on the library’s resources or budget, Johnson said.
“One of (the district board’s) goals is a lot more hours, a lot more programs, a lot more staff,” Johnson said, adding, right now the library can’t increase the staff but, with a small readjustment of librarians’ duties, the three extra hours can be accounted for.
She said the librarians are at the library during those hours anyway performing other duties. The library just isn’t open at that time, but, in the future, it will be. Johnson said, with the hours of operation expanded, the librarians will have to adjust their schedules to perform the tasks they normally do when the library is closed to some other time during their regular working hours.
Johnson said the increase in hours is small but all that is possible at the moment.
“We don’t want to over-extend ourselves, but we thought we could probably deal with that right now,” Johnson said, adding the library doesn’t want to have to take away hours again.
Johnson said the library always accepts volunteers. She said volunteers help with mending, cleaning and shelving and other things that are unable to be paid for.
“Shelving and mending are a major part of what the library needs done,” she said.
