Reduced Hours At East Brunswick Public Library

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Some sad news for East Brunswick residents: Due to funding cuts, the East Brunswick Public Library has to reduce its hours in 2018, the library announced.

Effective Thursday, February 1, East Brunswick Public Library will reduce hours of operations Monday through Thursdays, now opening at 10:00 a.m. instead of the previous 9:00 a.m.

The library’s Sunday hours will also be adjusted, with the library being closed on Sundays starting May 27 through September 8. In addition, the library will be closed on Election Day (Tuesday, November 5).

The changes are due to an anticipated reduction of municipal appropriations in the proposed 2018 budget.

“We have been told to anticipate a cut by the mayor," said library director Jennifer Podolsky. "We are hopeful that the town council will do as it has done in years past and provide us with the 2% needed to cover our increased fixed costs.”

“The East Brunswick Public Library has been informed by the Mayor that the 2018 municipal budget may include a cut to the library’s appropriation; this would be the first cut to the library’s budget since the 2009 recession,” said East Brunswick Public Library Board of Trustees President Wayne Christie.

“This cut will sadly require a reduction to our hours, and perhaps some services, in order to continue to provide excellence to our visitors, over 348,000 who came through our doors in 2017,” said East Brunswick Public Library Board of Trustees Budget Committee Chair and former President Deborah Cornavaca, Ph.D. “The Board of Trustees deeply regrets the inconvenience that the loss of hours will cause, most especially to our families and local businesses.”

“We hope you will work with us to see funding restored soon so that we can continue to serve you and our community," Christie added.

More information about East Brunswick Public Library’s schedule changes can be found online at www.ebpl.org. East Brunswick Public Library is a member of the Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium (LMxAC) and has a reciprocal borrowing agreement with thirty area libraries, allowing cardholders access to materials and services. A complete list of LMxAC libraries can be found online at www.lmxac.org.

Photo from the East Brunswick Library Foundation