9.A.
City Council Meeting - FINAL (AMENDED)
- Meeting Date:
- 06/02/2020
- From:
- Jared Tolman, Library Director
Information
TITLE
Library updates and discussion on adjusting hours of operation
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION:
To better serve our library patrons and the Flagstaff community, we are looking to adjust our library hours to further meet the needs of patrons waiting to utilize the main library in the morning. We are also seeking to meet the demands of patrons asking for longer library hours on the weekends. In order to do this, we need to adjust our hours, but will maintain the same number of operating hours that the main and east Flagstaff libraries currently hold.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Change library hours for the Main Library to:
Change library hours for East Flagstaff Community Library to:
The adjusted library hour schedule will leave both locations with improved working hours with a more enhanced weekend schedule. Each location will now have a short day and a long day on the weekends; this way, patrons on both sides of the city will have a full day they can spend at the library without having to move to a secondary location, which is now the current practice. For instance, if you want a full day on Sunday, you have to come to the Main Library and then go to the East Flagstaff Community Library to do so.
| Main Library | Current | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| Monday - Thursday | 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM | 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM |
| Friday | 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM | 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Sunday | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM | 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM |
| Total Hours of Operation | 65 hours of operation | 65 hours of operation |
Change library hours for East Flagstaff Community Library to:
| East Flagstaff | Current | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| Monday - Thursday | 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. | 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. |
| Friday | 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. | 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. | 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
| Total hours of operation | 65 hours of operation | 65 hours of operation |
The adjusted library hour schedule will leave both locations with improved working hours with a more enhanced weekend schedule. Each location will now have a short day and a long day on the weekends; this way, patrons on both sides of the city will have a full day they can spend at the library without having to move to a secondary location, which is now the current practice. For instance, if you want a full day on Sunday, you have to come to the Main Library and then go to the East Flagstaff Community Library to do so.
INFORMATION:
For some time now, the East Flagstaff Community Library has been receiving numerous requests for additional hours on the weekends. The library does not currently have the budget to add more staff or additional library hours. However, we feel a better solution is to look at the current hours of operation and make adjustments to meet the needs of the community better.
When the library began receiving requests for more weekend library hours, the library administration asked itself if there were any additional issues regarding library hours that needed to be addressed. We began noticing lines outside the Main Library entrance every morning, leaving us to wonder if we were opening early enough to meet the needs at this location. We also noticed that in the summer months, the number of people waiting outside more than tripled compared to colder times of the year. The library administration also noticed that there was no real unity between the two locations' operating hours. We felt that the community could benefit from a more unified set of library hours.
The library administration looked at the hours of operation and began working on a proposal to change the library hours to meet further the needs of our community, which includes; the additional weekend hours, addressing the lines at the front doors, and overall coordination of both libraries. One idea that stood at the forefront was adjusting library hours forward an hour and taking some hours from the end of the day to be put toward weekend hours. As we looked at this option in greater detail, we realized that this solution could meet all our goals for hours of operation.
The first step was ascertaining how many people were coming to the library during the first and last hours of each day, so we observed our door counts and recorded those numbers over some time. From the door count numbers, we found that there was a great need for earlier library hours, and less of a need for later library hours, as patrons were not utilizing the library later in the evenings as much as we had initially expected. We conducted several walkthroughs of the library during the evening hours, and we found that the patronage was sparse. This led the administration to believe that the library workforce would be better utilized earlier in the day when more patrons were using the library.
- What operating hours would you prefer the library adopt?
- What time of day do you most often come to the library?
- A change in library operating hours would impact me:
- Positively
- Negatively
- I would not be affected by the change
The library survey yielded 454 participants. The most significant percentage of responses were in favor of new library hours. The second-largest percentage of responses were neutral about any changes. The percentage of patrons who said that they would be affected negatively by the library hour changes were 28%. However, after looking at the number of negative responses and the time of day they indicated they used the library, more than half of them stated they used the library during a time of the day that would not be affected by the time change.
The number of patrons who indicated the library hour changes would affect them negatively was only 6%. Those who stated that they visited the library during a time that would not be affected by the change were moved to the neutral grouping. After rearranging these numbers, the percentages were as follows: 51% of patrons were in favor of new library hours, 43% of patrons were neutral about new library hours and indicated that a change in hours would not affect them, and 6% of patrons were against the shift to library hours, depending on the time of day they visited the library.
After analyzing the door count numbers and the survey results, the library administration recommends that the main library location shift its operating times by one hour. This proposes that the Main Library opens an hour earlier in the morning and closes an hour earlier in the evening. Operating hours for the Main Library would remain at 65 hours per week.
Library administration also recommends that the EFCL close one hour earlier, Monday through Thursday. This would make operating hours uniform for both locations, Monday through Thursday. The extra hours would then be moved to Sunday to accommodate the request for more weekend hours. Operating hours for the EFCL would remain at 65 hours per week as well.
The only difference between the two libraries' operating hours would be on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, the Main Library would be open from 9 AM - 5 PM, whereas the EFCL would be open from 9 AM - 1 PM. On Sunday, the Main Library would be open from 9 AM - 1 PM, and the EFCL would be open from 9 AM - 5 PM. This will allow each library to have a full weekend day for patrons to visit the library. It will also eliminate the need for a patron to leave one location and go to another to use the library for a full day. Finally, by making these changes, we will have consistency among the two library locations.
The Library administration presented the library hour recommendations to the Library Board. The Library Board voted in favor of the changes, and support staff to bring these changes before the City Council for further discussion and approval.
Attachments
- Main Library Hour Survey 1
- Main Library Hour Survey 2
- EFCL Library Hour Survey 1
- EFCL Library Hour Survey 2
- Presentation