Summer Saturdays at the JP Branch Library — Why Close?

Our colleagues from the Friends of the South End Library just put up a blog post lamenting the closure of branch on summer Saturdays. I'd like to echo it. The branch of JP are a wonderful community institution that are open less, just when school age kids and youth need them more.  That just seems counter intuitive.

Marlene Nienhuis (from the South End) wrote this:

Regrettably, the BPL still closes its branches on Saturdays in the summer, just when the kids are of of school and we need Saturday hours the most. Call the BPL (617 536-5400), the Mayor’s Office (617 635-4500) and the City Council (617 635-3040), if you would like to register your interest in seeing this changed. According to City Council President Stephen Murphy, in a June 18 interview with the Boston Globe’s Andrew Ryan,  ”Boston has weathered the fiscal crisis better than other large cities and is facing its first “breathing room budget’’ in several years.” Councillor Murphy, who came to the FOSEL sponsored candidates debate at the South End Library during his reelection campaign, has been a long-time supporter of library services, and would like to know about your support for  better library hours.

While you have our representatives on the line, consider asking for an additional night the South End library can be open, just like eleven other BPL branches. There are 25 branches in the BPL system. Eleven are open two nights a week. They include Adams, Brighton, Charlestown, Codman, Dudley, Honan-Allston, Hyde Park, Lower Mills, Mattapan, South Boston and West Roxbury. Fourteen, including the South End library, offer only one late night a week. Among the fourteen are some of the busiest in the system:  Jamaica Plain and West End. By contrast, the downtown Copley Library is open four nights a week, all day Saturday and  five hours on Sunday (except during the summer). Most of Boston’s library patrons who fund the public library through their taxes do not live downtown, however.

The Jamaica Plain Branch consistently has the top circulation number of any branch in our city, wouldn't it be great if we could have more time to use the building?  And if you do call to ask the Copley Administration or our City Council for more time in the branch, don't forget to ask them to add a staff person.  Our JP library staff are working their selves to the bone keeping up.  Shouldn't staffing levels reflect how busy a branch is???

The Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch Library's budget battle for the full renovation of the JP Branch has not been completed. The FY13 capital budget has a small amount for ongoing repairs, but the Mayor did that something more could happen.  A meeting is going to be held this summer for further discussions to take place.