Is the LIbrary Open?

I don’t know about you, but I am more ready for spring than I have been the last few years. I have been asked a couple of times this winter if the Library was closing.  Typically, we are open in most weather, including snow. If the snow is very heavy and expected to continue; if ice makes travel treacherous for hours, or if we have a large number of staff that cannot make it to work then I will consider closing for the day.

That has not happened this year. We have had many snow “events” but nothing of blizzard proportions. Yes, snow often results in less business at the library, but, like a grocery store we are often busy before (a rush to pick up that reserved item to read under a cozy quilt after an hour of shoveling, or some family movies to occupy the frigid evenings that often follow a snow) and after as soon as the streets are clear enough to get around. No matter the weather, there are always people at the Library.

I believe the public library is a very important resource, and one that should be available as much as possible. It is also an optional visit (unlike school) so no one suffers if they can’t make it due to weather …. Unless you consider being deprived of library time as suffering!

It’s pretty common sense that the hours the library is open correlate directly to how many people physically visit the building. The Library Board sets the building hours and calendar in February every year for the upcoming fiscal year. When the library is open is so important they have an entire policy devoted to library hours.

What do you think our busiest day is, hour for hour? If you guessed Sunday (we’re only open 12-5 on Sunday) you are correct. In the second quarter (Oct-Dec) we averaged 279 people per hour in the library, followed by Saturday at 242 people per hour. Our busiest weekday is Friday (212 people per hour) and our least busy is Tuesday at only 164.

It’s still cold, but it’s warm inside, so come on downtown and make a visit to the public library.