Today, November 12, 2009, the Seattle City Council unanimously voted to increase the General Subfund (GSF) support for library services by $860,000 in 2010. As described in the Seattle City Council’s green sheet Tab 94, Action 1, Option C, Version 1, “[$860,000] would restore 140 of the library operating hours that would be eliminated per the 2010 Proposed Budget. Increasing GSF support for library services by $860,000 would also allow the Library Board to reinstate some of the 27 staff positions (18.8 FTE [Full Time]) that would be eliminated under the 2010 Proposed Budget.”
The new operating hours for The Seattle Public Library will look like this with Option C as per the Seattle City Council’s green sheet Tab 94, Action 1, Option C, Version 1
Central:
- Hours remain at the current seven day, 62 hour weekly schedule
Ballard, Beacon Hill, Broadview, Capitol Hill, Douglass-Truth, Greenwood, Lake City, Northeast, Rainier Beach, Southwest and West Seattle:
-
Open 7 Days per week (60 hours per week):
-
Monday – Thursday, 10 am – 8 pm;
-
Friday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm;
-
Sunday 1 pm – 5 pm
Columbia, Delridge, Fremont, Green Lake, High Point, International District/Chinatown, Madrona-Sally Goldmark, Magnolia, Montlake, NewHolly, Northgate, Queen Anne, South Park, University and Wallingford:
- Open 5 Days per week (35 hours per week, closed Friday and Sunday):
-
Monday – Tuesday, 1 pm – 8 pm;
-
Wednesday – Thursday, 11 am – 6 pm;
-
Friday: CLOSED;
-
Saturday 10 am – 6 pm;
-
Sunday: CLOSED
With most people working Monday through Friday, wouldn’t it have been a better option to close the library another weekday to keep it open on both weekend days?
Well, that’s a lot better than the situation was before. It doesn’t look, among other things, as if there will be any furlough in 2010, unless something really screwy happens. OTOH, my “main” library, the University Branch, is one of the ones that is going to be closed Fridays and Sundays(sigh). Well, I guess you can’t have everything, and we will just have to keep working to restore funding.
Anne G
There will still be a one week furlough
[...] Beacon Hill library at sunset. Photo by Wendi.The Friends of Seattle Public Library Blog reports good news: yesterday, the City Council voted unanimously to increase support for library services by $860,000 [...]
Donn, I believe Friday and Sunday were selected based on lowest usage (that’s also why Sunday has the shortest hours in the branches that will be open).
It used to be that only the downtown library was open Sundays while SPL branches were closed. Personally, I wish the council had juggled the funding and reinstituted that schedule so that ALL branches were closed on Sundays but open on Fridays.
[...] The Seattle City Council voted unanimously to restore $860,000 to The Seattle Public Library’s ope… In Mayor Nickels’ proposed 2010 budget just 5 neighborhood branches were slated to operate at 60 hours a week and the other 21 at 35 hours a week. The restoration of $860,000 placed an additional 6 neighborhood branch libraries onto the 60 hour a week schedule – 11 branches will now be open 60 hours a week and 15 will be open 35 hours a week. The Library’s 2010 operations budget will still be reduced by $1.77 million dollars. All neighborhood branches will feel the effects of another one week closure of the entire system. The impact of the revised 2010 budget on The Seattle Public Library is available on The Library website HERE. [...]