The Toledo Lucas County Public Library will offer expanded service hours starting Jan. 3, including the addition of Sunday hours at four branch locations.
The library system’s board of trustees on Thursday approved a plan for expanded hours that had been presented last week to its community relations and services committee.
“As we’re starting to see increased engagement back in the community, we are staffing back up,” Executive Director Jason Kucsma said.
Under the proposal approved Thursday, four library branches — Sylvania, Heatherdowns, Sanger, and Oregon — will offer Sunday hours from 1 to 5 p.m. starting in January.
Also starting Jan. 3, the Main Library and Heatherdowns, Holland, Kent, King, Maumee, Mott, Oregon, Reynolds Corners, Sanger, Sylvania, Washington, Waterville, and West Toledo branches will be open 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
At the same time, the Birmingham, Lagrange, Locke, Point Place, South, and Toledo Heights branches will be open 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.
In total, the expanded hours will add 120 hours of service per week, according to library officials, plus 16 hours per week Sunday.
As both public and community organizations return to pre-pandemic activity levels, it’s appropriate for the library to reinstate services curtailed last year for safety reasons, said Keith Jordan, a board member and chairman of the community relations and services committee.
“We feel it was sufficient time to make these advances,” he said.
The library closed to the public for several months last year along with many other entities as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It reopened first by offering curbside and telephone services in June, 2020, with more services restored thereafter in line in line with recommended guidelines.
In addition to the Sunday hours, Mr. Kucsma said officials are also happy to bring back evening hours that will encourage people and community organizations to use library services after work during the week.
Officials did not seek to reinstate Sunday hours for the Main Library in in downtown Toledo, Mr. Kucsma said, because there is more traffic at the branches during that time and it would not be cost effective to open such a large building for a limited number of hours.
Hosting special events there on Sundays, however, remains a possibility, he said. And officials would continue to monitor usage; while administrators avoid changing hours too often, Mr. Kucsma said, it’s possible more libraries will open on Sundays in the future if usage warrants it.
Mr. Jordan said it’s wonderful to have the buildings open again.
“We look forward to continuing to serve,” he said.
First Published October 28, 2021, 3:13 p.m.
