Houston PL Cuts Service Hours by 28 Percent
Midyear budget cut requires adjustment, attrition
Lynn Blumenstein -- Library Journal, 04/14/2010
- Materials cut six percent
- 42 positions to remain unfilled
- Weekend hours especially affected
- Next year could be much worse
Houston Public Library (HPL) will implement substantial service cuts beginning April 17, as it must reduce its current Fiscal Year (FY) budget by approximately $2.2 million to $37 million. Given that less than one-quarter of the fiscal year remains, there's little wiggle room.
HPL’s weekly hours will decrease from 70 to 51, affecting access every day of the week. The materials budget will be cut by six percent and staff will be reduced by attrition, with 42 FTE positions to remain vacant.
The City of Houston faces a budget shortfall for the current FY, ending June 30, of between $12 and $20 million, according to the Houston Chronicle. The deficit for the upcoming FY could be as large as $100 million.
Weekend hours take a hit
Branch libraries will be open Monday through Friday but weekend hours will be sharply curtailed; only nine locations out of 42 will remain open on Saturdays and only the Central Library will remain open on Sundays.
During the summer, the Central Library will close Fridays and Sundays. Special collections housed in three locations will be unavailable on Fridays.
"We believe the new operations plan to be proactive, realistic, and focused on continued equitable delivery of quality library services" said HPL director Rhea Brown Lawson in a statement.
What about next year?
Many libraries are already announcing closures and cuts for the next fiscal year, but it’s too early to tell for HPL. The library, however, "doesn’t expect to see any improvement," spokesperson Sandra Fernandez told LJ.
