‘We’re Back’: Sunday, Monday Service Returns to Woodbury Library

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.

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