‘We’re Back’: Sunday, Monday Service Returns to Woodbury Library
Washington County libraries were closed on Sundays and Mondays during 2012.
Customers just wanted to say thank you or shake someone’s hand.
That was the reaction from patrons at the R.H. Stafford Library following the news that Washington County would restore Sunday and Monday service at the library starting this year, said Chad Lubbers, manager of the Woodbury branch.
The new hours go into effect this weekend.
“Now, we’re back to where we should have been,” Lubbers said. “It feels like coming home after a long journey.”
The Woodbury library will be open seven days a week until June, when it will close on Sundays through the end of August as part of a pilot program. Library officials will examine how that works and determine their options for hours in the future.
One interesting note about the reduced hours in 2012: the Woodbury library did not see a commensurate dip in usage, Lubbers said. The library saw a jump in e-book checkouts in 2012, he said, and he expects that to continue as people who got tablets or e-readers over the holidays begin to utilize them.
“The Friday after Christmas, I had people bring in seven different kinds of tablets,” Lubbers said. “And half of them hadn’t been turned on before.”
While Lubbers acknowledged 2012 was “tough” for the Washington County Library system, he said the public was heard.
“We want to be there when they need us,” Lubbers said.
Check out the full schedule for all county libraries.
Previous Coverage
Washington County Will Cut Library Hours Next Year
Residents React to Plan to Cut Days at Library
Commissioner: County Libraries Adapt to Reduced Hours
All’s Quiet at the Woodbury Library
Reduced Hours Prompts Likely Outcome for Woodbury Library
Washington County Library Wins State Award for Library Express
Sunday, Monday Hours to Return to Woodbury Library in 2013
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SomeGuy
9:56 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Fan-tastic! Reinstating Mondays while staying closed on Sundays made little sense, given user patterns. But, in truth, anytime a public library has to reduce hours says a whole lot more about the community that it does about the library itself. We are lucky to have a good - and busy - library.
Kris Janisch
10:03 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Absolutely, and I think the Woodbury is among the top six or seven most-used libraries in the metro.
Kathryn Niflis Johnson
6:14 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
That's great to hear!
Kris Janisch
9:47 am on Friday, January 4, 2013
For sure. I work up at Central Park sometimes and I can't tell you how often people would walk up to the doors on a Monday, grumble, and walk away.