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June 13, 2010

Libraries plan to cut hours

By JOEL LANDAU • Staff Writer • June 12, 2010

The public libraries in Vineland and Millville are trimming their hours and cutting off interlibrary loans as they look for ways to balance their budgets in the face of state funding cuts.

And Cumberland County Library will shut down one day a month through November for state furloughs.

Gov. Chris Christie proposed a 74 percent cut in state library funding in the 2011 Fiscal Year budget, which will eliminate all statewide library programs and services, including Internet access beginning in 2012, and the ability to share academic databases and borrow materials at all the locations. The $10.4 million cut also includes a 50 percent cut in direct allocations for all libraries.

Starting July 1, Vineland Public Library will open an hour later -- at 10 a.m. -- Monday through Friday. The library will open two hours later and close an hour earlier -- 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- on Saturdays.

Library Director Gloria Urban announced the changes earlier this week.
In Millville, the library's opening times will be cut by nine hours a week, starting Sept. 1. Opening and closing will be trimmed by one hour Monday through Thursday. Friday openings will be pushed to 10 a.m. Saturday hours will remain the same.

"It's pretty much obvious why we are doing this," said Bill Gant, president of the library's board of trustees. "We need to cut back in any shape or way we can."
Director Irene Percelli said the board hopes to eventually be able to
restore the hours.
State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-1, said he is working to recover some of the state funding, adding the libraries are receiving more than their fair share of the cuts.
"We need an adequate library system," he said. "Hopefully we will be able to figure out something here."

Calls to Christie's office were not returned this week.
Vineland and Millville are also ending their interlibrary loan program -- the practice of shipping books between libraries on customer request -- as a way to save even more money.
Urban said people can still borrow materials from other libraries in the county, but they'll have to go to those libraries to pick them up and must return them there.

"You can borrow materials in my library, but you must bring it back to my library," she said.
The loan program will be cut off on Tuesday so that the libraries have enough time to recover all of their books.

Jean Edwards, director of the Cumberland County Library in Bridgeton, said she's not reducing hours, but the library will be closed six days between July and November due to furloughs.
The library staff will all take their furlough days at the same time and close the library, she said.
Millville resident Faith Hall said she visits the Millville library regularly and does not have transportation to go to other libraries.
"This is my only source for borrowed literature," she said.

Posted by tumulty at June 13, 2010 11:51 AM

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