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March 29, 2010

In lean times, Piscataway library finds way to reopen on Sundays

c-n.com
By JEFF GRANT • STAFF WRITER • March 27, 2010

At a time when municipal services in towns across the region are being squeezed by budget cuts, the staff of the township's Public Library has found a way to expand its hours.

The John F. Kennedy Library on Feb. 7 restored its Sunday hours following a nearly two-year absence. The library had ceased offering the service in fall 2007 due to budget cuts, said Director James K. Keehbler.

The change is a welcome one for patrons and staff, said Keehbler, noting that Sunday is considered the second most popular day of the week … after Saturday … to check out materials.

"We circulate over 100 items an hour on Sundays; Saturdays, probably 125,'' he said.

The library is now open from 1-5 p.m. on Sundays -- … easily the shortest daily hours of the week, but a very busy four hours, Keehbler said.

"A lot of (people) are so busy during the week they can't get here,'' he said. ""Many students who have papers and reports come in. And, a lot of job searchers want to do their work on Sunday to prepare for the week ahead.''

The effort to restore Sunday hours began in October 2008, shortly after Keehbler took over as director of the Piscataway Public Library, which includes the Kennedy site at 500 Hoes Lane and the Johanna W. Westergard Library at 20 Murray Ave. The Westergard library does not have Sunday hours.

"The staff said Sunday was the most popular day, and we'd like to reopen. We all got together and said, "How can we make this work?' It really was a staff-created thing. The town didn't ask us to do it, and the library board didn't ask us to do it,'' Keehbler said.

The move bucked a current trend for libraries.
For example, in Plainfield, the Public Library recently eliminated Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon hours in the wake of sweeping budget cuts. In East Brunswick, the library now closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays instead of 9 p.m.

Public libraries receive a budget allotment from the municipality each year. That figure was $2.336 million in fiscal year 2010, which ends June 30. (The library and the municipality are shifting to calender-year budgeting this year.) Budget cuts prevented the library from adding personnel, so the staff turned to scheduling. Eventually, all the staff agreed on a plan that would involve those who normally didn't work on Sunday, including Keehbler. That means each person takes an additional day off during the week. With 12 full-time employees, Keehbler said that works out to one ""flex-schedule'' week per month.

"If i come in on Sunday, I won't be in on Friday. I would make sure I'd schedule meetings, etc. on other days,'' he said.

The Sunday staff includes four full-time workers and two part-time pages to check in books and shelve books. The full-timers are a reference librarian, a children's librarian and two staffers at the circulation desk.

Patrons seem happy with the change.

"I was shocked at first (when Sunday hours ended),'' said Anthony Valenti, 35, of Piscataway. ""It gives me something good to go back to.''

Anubhaw Arya, 15, a sophomore at Piscataway High School, said it's become easier to complete homework. ""I was stuck for a bit,'' he said. "We had to meet at someone's house (for group projects). The library is much easier. It's a central
location.''

Madeleine Interdonato, 45, of Piscataway, said she enjoys having access to the library's computers.

"You can get on the Internet,'' she said. "I work during the week and am off on Sunday. If you don't have something else going on, you can always go to the library.''

Jeff Grant: 908-243-6612;

Posted by tumulty at March 29, 2010 8:39 AM

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