City Library to Close Holiday Weekends

To save the city some $33,400 a year, the Beverly Hills Public Library will close an additional 10 days during holiday weekends, the City Council decided at its last meeting.

City librarian Nancy Hunt-Coffey introduced the plan at the June 3 meeting as an alternative to closing the library on the first Saturday of every month. That move would have saved the city $31,200 and resulted in eight additional Saturday closures. The library is already closed on four Saturdays throughout the year.

Though the savings from both closure plans are roughly the same, Hunt-Coffey said the holiday closures make more sense from a customer service perspective.

"With the Saturday closures "it is very difficult for patrons to remember our schedule," Hunt-Coffey told the council. "It's not uncommon for libraries to be closed during holiday weekends, so I think it would be easier for patrons to remember that."

She added that library usage is generally lower on holiday weekends.

The latest proposal met with resistance from council members John Mirisch and Nancy Krasne, who opposed any additional reduction to the library's funding and hours on top of cuts made last year.

"I don't want any cuts to the library," said Mirish. "That's the first thing that always goes and it's important for all members of the community."

In 2009, the city cut the library's materials budget by more than $200,000 and reduced its hours of operation. The library now closes at 8 p.m. rather than 9 p.m. from Monday through Wednesday, and 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Mayor Jimmy Delshad was quick to champion Hunt-Coffey's proposal, though he noted that an additional $33,000 in savings was "chump change" in light of the library's $10-million operating budget.

The holiday weekend reduction is seen as a significant compromise for City Hall. The original proposal to trim the library's budget called for it to close every Saturday of the calendar year for a potential savings of $190,000.

Under the new holiday closure schedule, the library will shut during the weekends of Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, spring break (April 23-24) and Memorial Day. The library is already closed for the weekends surrounding July 4, Labor Day, Christmas and New Year's Day.