The Crookston Times reports today that area libraries are reducing operating hours in order to deal with budget cuts. The Ada library will be closed for two weeks in the spring and two weeks in the summer. Libraries in Fertile and Climax, which are operating at the minimum 20 hours per week required to receive state aid, will reduce expenditures such as librarian planning hours to avoid reducing operating hours any further. The McIntosh library, which currently operates 21 hours per week, will lose one hour in order to stay open the minimum 20 hours for state funding. The Fosston library will reduce library assistant time by four hours per week and will be closed on Saturdays starting in April.
These cuts come at the same time as libraries are seeing record usership from families, jobseekers, and community members. To keep your library open, contact your legislators and the governor, and tell them that communities cannot afford further LGA cuts.