Lucas County Public Library expands hours - ToledoNewsNow.com: News, Weather & Sports for Toledo, OH

(Toledo News Now) – The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library expanded its hours at four locations last week, and plans to continue expanding hours at other locations. They made the announcement during a press release:

"Last week, the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library kicked off its restored Sunday hours at four Library locations, and continued Sunday hours at Sanger Branch; and now the Library is happy to report Phase 2 of our Promises Made, Promises Kept campaign with a new announcement: beginning Monday, February 4, more Library locations will have restored weekly and Saturday hours!

The affected branch locations include Birmingham, Lagrange, Locke, South, Toledo Heights, Kent, Maumee and Waterville - (See restored hours list below). Even more locations are scheduled to add hours in March in a Phase 3 roll-out that will include Main Library and remaining branch locations.

"We were excited to announce our restored Sunday hours last week, and as we continue to keep the promises we made during the levy, we are more thrilled to announce these additional weekly and Saturday hours for our customers," said Library Director Clyde Scoles. "Because of the support of Lucas County residents, our system will remain a valuable, educational resource for children, job seekers and those wanting to preserve our local memory."

The Library's administrative team and the Board of Trustees have worked to restore weekly, Saturday and Sunday hours. "We will not recover all lost hours but will offer more access to the highest levels of library services," said Scoles.

Restored Weekly and Saturday Hours scheduled to begin February 4:

A.   Monday and Tuesday: 9 a.m. – 8:30 p.m./Wednesday-Friday: 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

• Birmingham, 203 Paine Ave.
• Lagrange, 3422 Lagrange St.
• Locke, 703 Miami St.
• South, 1736 Broadway St.
• Toledo Heights, 423 Shasta Dr.

B.   Monday and Tuesday: 9 a.m. – 8:30 p.m./Wednesday-Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

• Kent, 3101 Collingwood Blvd.

C.   Monday-Wednesday: 9 a.m. – 8:30 p.m./Thursday-Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

• Maumee, 501 River Rd.
• Waterville, 800 Michigan Ave.

Looking back at 2009, the reduction in state library funding, coupled with a drop in property tax valuations, caused a drastic $7.4 million shortfall. These state and local funding cuts had a dramatic effect on the Library system, which welcomed 2.7 million visitors in 2011. Library hours were slashed 27 percent. Night and weekend hours were dramatically decreased and only one branch (Sanger) remained open on Sundays – a time families seek out library services. Library programs for children were down almost 37 percent, and the number of registered borrowers went down almost 10 percent because we were not open when many need us.

"The state and local funding cuts left our hands tied and deeply impacted our Library system," added Scoles. "It was crucial that we passed the levy and we did. However, state funding, which is about half of our budget, remains uncertain."

NOTE: For additional information visit toledolibrary.org, or call 419.259.5200"