Charlotte Mecklenburg Library expands hours

Starting in January, all 20 branches of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library system will be open one hour earlier Monday through Saturday.

Welcoming people at 9 a.m. rather than 10 a.m. is the library’s response to high demand for additional morning hours expressed in the results of its 2015 customer satisfaction survey.

This is the second time the library has expanded hours since 2010, when a $10 million cut in Mecklenburg County’s library funding resulted in the library closing three branches, cutting hours and laying off 180 workers. An extra $2 million from the county in 2011 allowed the library to re-open its doors on Tuesdays and Fridays at six regional branches after the previous year’s cuts.

Now, the library is adding six hours per week to its schedule Monday through Saturday, bringing the library’s total Monday- Saturday hours up to 64 – six hours less than its original schedule before the 2010 budget cuts.

This time, however, the library is using current resources to expand hours without the help of extra money.

“Library managers have identified ways to accommodate the longer service hours using existing staff,” Director of Libraries David Singleton said. Not only will the increase in hours give patrons more time to browse the stacks and use technology resources, it will also allow the library to increase the availability of literacy programs and activities for children and adults.

“Libraries were founded to serve the community, and we are continually looking for ways to improve or expand our services,” Singleton said. “The new hours reflect Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s continuing commitment to serving the community while being a good steward of taxpayer resources.”

This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Charlotte Mecklenburg Library expands hours."