With the county’s library budget shrinking, the county’s libraries are likely to be closed on Sundays and Mondays starting in 2012, said Library Director Pat Conley.
The cut is part of a budget plan presented to the Washington County Board Tuesday, Aug. 16.
The equivalent of five-and-a-half full-time staff positions would be eliminated, according to Conley’s presentation.
Commissioner Dennis Hegberg said he was concerned about eliminating Sunday hours because students will not have access to the library to work on homework.
Commissioner Lisa Weik, who represents a portion of Woodbury, proposed having the library system work with schools to keep their libraries open longer to give students access to resources.
Weik also asked staff to look into adding Hmong language to the homework helpline to accommodate the growing Hmong population in Oakdale and Woodbury.
The library’s total revenue for 2012 is projected to be $6 million, Conley said. The 2011 adopted budget gave the library system $6.5 million in revenue.
Conley mentioned that there will be three library access points open 24 hours, seven days a week. The access points will be located in Hugo, Marine on St. Croix and Newport.
Also, the library will continue to have e-Resources and research tools, Homework Assist and downloadable e-books and audio books available online.
The Washington County Board will set the preliminary levy on Sept. 13 at its regular meeting.
