Sunday, Monday Hours to Return to Woodbury Library in 2013

It might be a day to loosen the guidelines on being quiet at the library.

Washington County plans to restore Sunday and Monday hours at the R.H. Stafford Library in Woodbury starting in 2013.

Under a pilot program, the Woodbury library would be open from 1-5 p.m. on Sundays, except for summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

The concern was: “Is everybody going to swamp Stafford?” said Washington County Library Director Pat Conley.

“We want to make sure we have good customer service—that’s why it’s a pilot (program),” she said.

Last year, as part of a cost-saving measure, the county opted to eliminate Sunday and Monday service at all branches.

Plans call for the R.H. Stafford, Cottage Grove, Oakdale, Wildwood and Hardwood Creek libraries to be open Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and to open the Valley branch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday. The Washington County Board on Tuesday, Oct. 2, approved the new hours as it prepares to finalize the 2013 budget.

Conley said she was “very, very pleased” with the county board’s 5-0 vote on the matter. She said she asked the board for $260,000 to restore some hours, and the group opted for an additional $24,000 for the pilot program in Woodbury.

There was some “sadness and disappointment” from patrons over the 2012 reduction in hours, Conley said, but most were understanding about the fiscal restraints on Washington County.

She also lauded the county board, which came up with the idea for additional hours for at least one library during the school year during workshop sessions.

Conley thanked library users for voicing their support for additional hours.

“It really made a difference,” she said.

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