Library adds Monday to days of operation

The move comes after a battle over expanding the facility and how it should be governed.

The Woodstock Library has added Mondays to its operating schedule in response to public demand and in the wake of the recent divisive battle over expanding the library and whether the library district should be eliminated.

The Monday hours of the library — on Library Lane, off Tinker Street — are noon to 6 p.m. That means the library now will be open every day except Sunday.

“We’ve been hearing that people wanted an extra day,” said Library Director Jessica Kerr. “... Reducing costs in some areas and adding more [personnel] has helped us to get to get to this point where we can be open.”

Kerr said the library’s $642,000 budget for 2019 has some excess money, making the expense of operating on Mondays manageable.

“There were a couple categories that we were overbudgeting in,” she said.

The decision to add a day of operation comes two months after voters, by a margin of almost 2 to 1, rejected a proposal to dissolve the library district and turn its operation over to another entity, likely the town.

Supporters of dissolving the district objected to the library board’s plan to replace the 7,800-squarefoot current facility with a building almost twice as large that would cost an estimated $5 million.

Kerr said having the library open an extra day each week is part of an effort to let people know the library’s welcomes everyone.

“What I’m hoping is that ... people come in as much as they need,” she said.

Besides noon to 6 p.m. on Mondays, the Woodstock Library is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.