Library Restores Monday Hours

The Chatsworth Library and 72 other city public libraries will be open at 10 a.m. today with the first Monday operating hours in almost a year.

The Library Department started closing libraries on Mondays last summer due to budget cuts. City Librarian Martin Gomez said restoring service on Mondays is a top priority for the department, because it is traditionally a high-traffic day.

"It's when people go back to work and back to school. So for those procrastinators who didn't get their assignments done over the weekend, Mondays have been a popular day,'' he told City News Service.

The change comes as a result of Measure L, which was overwhelmingly approved by voters on March 8, designating a greater percentage of the city's tax revenue for library services.

The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 last week to devote at least $5.3 million in new money to expanding public library hours and services.

Budget cuts over the last two years slashed library hours to the lowest level in the department's 140-year history.

The closure of Monday service led to the decrease of about 10 percent in circulation of books and pedestrian traffic, Library Department Assistant General Manager Kristina Morita told the City Council.

But the money is not nearly enough to rehire about 300 full-time librarians and other staff—about 27 percent of the department's employees—laid off or otherwise lost due to budget tightening and an early retirement incentive.

However, about $1.7 million will go toward hiring 300 part-time librarians and clerical staff.

And Gomez said he has a plan to use future revenue increases to open libraries four nights per week instead of the current two and for the main library and eight regional branches to open every day of the week.

The department is expected to save $800,000 in concessions from labor unions, City News Service reported.

"I'm not going to spend that money right now,'' Gomez said. "I want to make sure that the $1.7 million is adequate first. If it's not sufficient, we'll have to pull money from that account for more part-time hours.''

The city department of about 800 employees relies heavily on close to 7,000 volunteers. The Chatsworth Friends of the Library group holds used book sales to support library finances. About 1,000 volunteers citywide participate in an adult literacy program, and others lead tours of the downtown library or deliver books to homebound residents.

The library department hopes to find money to hire a full-time volunteer coordinator who would improve the retention rate of volunteers and grow their numbers by another 10-15 percent.

"I am thrilled to see our libraries once again open on Mondays and believe this is a victory to be celebrated by all Angelenos,'' Councilman Bernard Parks, who proposed and led the effort to pass Measure L, said.

"Residents have shown their commitment to maintaining the library system and expressed the value they place on this critical city service.''

Gomez says he plans to evaluate the restored Monday service after three months to know if the number of part-time hours allotted are enough to maintain good service at all of the department's branches.

City News Service contributed to this report.