Charleston Public Library institutes new hours
Eight part-time positions were cut from the Charleston Carnegie Public Library’s pay roll on Friday.
This is the second round of adjustments the library administration has made since June 2009.
When the renovations of the library were complete, there were expenses that went above the projected budget. Judy Looby, the new interim executive director of the Charleston Carnegie Public Library, said the economic recession has affected the library, along with the fact Coles County has a tax cap.
“It was the combination of events which forced us to go down to a bare bones budget,” Looby said.
The library has cut operating hours along with positions. Now the staff consists of five full-time employees and two part-time workers.
The library will now be closed on Thursdays; however, they have added hours to rest of the week to allow more options for the patrons.
The library will be open one hour later Monday to Wednesday; with operating hours from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The building will be open until 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
The cut back in hours will accumulate to four hours per week, as the operating hours will decrease from 52 hours to 48 hours per week.
“We’ve had times when we had to tighten our belt, but never cut our hours,” Looby said.
For the next three months, the library directors will hold to these adjustments, but this should not be a permanent fix.
“On May 1, we will look at a new budget to put us back on better financial footing,” Looby said.
This should also be the end of the cuts.
“New funding and a new fiscal year will put us in a better position to add the hours back,” Looby said.
Because of the cuts in employees, the library directors have decided to change the Sixth Street entrance, on the west side of the building, to an emergency exit only.
This was done for a safety and security measure, so the facility can be monitored efficiently with the current employees.
“However, no services have been cut,” Looby said.
Kayleigh Zyskowski can be reached at 581-7942 or at kzyskowski@eiu.edu
Charleston Public Library institutes new hours
Aside from Charleston resident Anthony Payton, the computers at Charleston Library sit empty. Due to low attendance, Charleston Public Library will no longer be open on Thursdays. (Dave Parks/The Daily Eastern News)
