New Hours at LPL result from city budget cuts

Beginning on Monday, June 21, new hours of operation go into effect at the Lewiston Public Library.  The new hours will be: Monday through Thursday, 10 am to 7 pm; Friday, 9 am to 5 pm; and Summer Saturdays, 9 am to 2 pm.

This reduction of hours is a result of the Lewiston City Council’s recent budget deliberations and their adoption of the Fiscal Year 2011 City Budget. $15,303 was cut from the Library’s part-time budget line requiring a drop in hours open from 57 weekly to 52.

The Board of Library Trustees and library staff looked at hour-by-hour library usage patterns in coming up with a reduced schedule that would minimize the impact on library users.  The new schedule trims one hour from the beginning and end of most days and restores open hours on Wednesday mornings.   (Wednesday morning hours had been eliminated during budget cuts in June of 2009.)

Several other cuts were made to the Library’s FY2011 budget. These include the elimination of one full time position (Cultural Center Coordinator) and a cut of $25,470 from the LPL book budget. These will result in fewer programs being offered to the public and a 25% reduction in the number of new books being purchased.

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