Library patrons oppose loss of Sunday hours
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
The reduction in library operating hours ordered by the state librarian is hitting in an unexpected area — weekends, the prime days for families to visit and check out books or allow children to research papers for school.
Under plans being considered by library officials, the Hawai'i Kai and Mililani libraries may close on Sundays, leaving only three libraries open on all of O'ahu: Kane'ohe, Pearl City and Kaimuki, said Virginia Lowell, state librarian.
Libraries on the Neighbor Islands were already closed on Sundays, but the impending cutbacks may affect their Saturday hours. On Kaua'i, that will leave the island with just one library open on weekends.
Library patrons and others say the decision should take their needs into account.
"A major change is about to happen and our community isn't being consulted," said Mort Brown, one of four volunteers at the Hawai'i Kai Public LIbrary. "No one asked the community what days it prefers the library to be closed."
Lowell ordered all libraries to cut back to five-day, 40-hour operating schedules after the library budget was reduced by $500,000, part of statewide cuts ordered by Gov. Linda Lingle to trim costs across state departments.
The changes are expected to take effect in March and last at least until the end of the fiscal year, June 30, and most likely get more severe as further budget cuts are ordered, said Lynn Masumoto, administrator for the public library branch.
Lowell said it was either cut library hours or close libraries completely and lay off staff.
"While community input is important, it's not the deciding factor of what days to close," Lowell said. "It's finances that's driving the plan here. The real solution here is to put pressure on the lawmakers to adequately fund the library system."
A national study shows that Hawai'i spends $19 per capita on its library system compared with peer libraries that spend $29, she said. To catch up, Lowell said, the library system needs an additional $6 million to $11 million annually.
Meantime, hours must be cut, she said.
How to schedule the available hours is up to the individual libraries, Lowell said. All the libraries have figured out their schedules, but they have not been presented to the union membership, Lowell said.
For patrons of the Hawai'i Kai library, now a six-day-a-week operation, the closest library open on a Sunday will be Kaimuki once the changes take effect. On Saturday, patrons used to visiting the Kai-
muki library will find the doors locked and will have to drive to 'Aina Haina, Hawai'i Kai, Liliha, Manoa, McCully or Waikiki, Masumoto said.
For residents along O'ahu's Leeward Coast, the nearest library would be Pearl City. From Nanakuli, that would mean a drive of 15 miles.
"We were trying to think about the community at large," said Hawai'i Kai branch librarian Stacie Kanno. "We're trying to accommodate as many people as possible."
When it came to figuring out what days to cut, Kanno noted that Sunday is only the fourth-busiest day of the week at the Hawai'i Kai library. Considerable after-school use during the week, the popularity of such weekday services as keiki story hours and the fact that the nearby Kaimuki library would be open all played into the decision to close on Sundays, she said.
At Mililani, the branch manager refused to talk about the schedule changes, but did say that the library serves many other surrounding communities. The library has been open seven days a week.
Pearl City adult reference librarian Lillian Ulgaran said she has heard groans from patrons over that facility's planned Saturday closure.
"People are really frowning ... because they like to come on Saturdays," especially families, she said.
The library, which has been open seven days a week, also will likely close on Thursdays. Libraries were told that they couldn't stay open seven days and just reduce their hours because the goal was
to cut down on the use of electricity to save money, Ulgaran said. Library staff, previously used to fill the six- and seven-day schedules, will be moved to fill vacant positions, Lowell said.
On Kaua'i, the closures mean that only one library — in Princeville — will be open on the entire island on Saturday. The Lihu'e Public Library will lose its Saturday hours under the proposal. Princeville is a relatively new facility with a small collection, said Shelley Salvi-Souza, a library assistant at the Lihu'e Public Library.
On the Big Island, three libraries are expected to close on Saturdays, leaving residents three to choose from: Hilo and, in Kona, Kealakekua and Kailua. On Maui, Saturday service will remain unchanged.
State Sen. Sam Slom, R-8th (Wai'alae Iki, Hawai'i Kai), said the library system could afford to look at other ways to meet its budget shortfall, rather than cutting services to the community.
Slom said the library system should look at finding other revenue sources such as grants and gifts from local clubs and organizations.
"It's not a question of money entirely," Slom said. "It's a question of priorities and attitude and management style. We are in difficult financial times, and we have to restore financial discipline. We have to prioritize, but not at the expense of, but with the sensitivity to, the taxpayers that support the library system."
State Rep. Bud Stonebreaker, R-15th (Kalama Valley, Portlock), is urging Lowell to find any means necessary to keep the East Honolulu libraries open.
Lowell "must use the common business sense needed to keep the public libraries open," Stonebreaker said in a press release.
