PLACENTIA : Library Cuts Hours, Programs in Pinch

The Placentia Library District Board of Directors this week reduced the number of hours the library will be open and trimmed some programs because of budget cuts.

Faced with a drop of $330,000 in state funding, the library laid off six employees earlier this month. The cuts, combined with the elimination of seven full-time positions and one part-time job already lost this year, made it impossible for the library to maintain the current schedule, said Library Director Elizabeth Minter.

When the new schedule goes into effect Sept. 3, the library will be open Monday through Wednesday from noon to 8 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. It will be closed Saturdays.

The biggest impact will be on local schools, which use the city’s only library to supplement school libraries. Under the old schedule, schools could use the library four weekday mornings, but the new hours will force schools to compete for one morning a week.

Another casualty will be morning story time, which had been offered daily and was popular among preschoolers. Minter said the library will continue to offer afternoon story time.

About 60 people attended a public hearing held by the library board to discuss the new schedule. Minter said most of those who spoke lamented the loss of hours and the lack of control over how their tax dollars are spent.

One bright spot is that the library will continue to be the only North County library open Sundays. According to Minter, the lost Saturday hours are a concern, but libraries in Yorba Linda and Anaheim, which Placentia residents can use, are open that day.