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Sunday is libraries’ new fun day
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New hours: Halle Keleta reads a newspaper at the Noe Valley Branch Library on Wednesday. The branch will extend its hours from five days per week to six.
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - The prayers of San Francisco’s library advocates have finally been answered.
Seven San Francisco library branches will be open an extra day starting this year, restoring Sunday service in several neighborhoods and offering seven-day access in three of The City’s most remote communities. Along with San Francisco’s main downtown library, only seven of The City’s branch libraries previously had permanent Sunday hours.
Although all libraries are open Saturdays, library advocates have clamored for years to have more branches open on both weekend days. In June 2007, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi secured $455,000 within the 2006-07 fiscal year budget to expand Sunday hours, and this year’s openings represent the last of the branches slated to reinstate Sunday hours.
Library leaders lobbied for money in the 2008-09 budget to open the Noe Valley and Glen Park branches on Sundays; the Ortega and Bayview branches will now be open every day. Prompted by Mirkarimi, the Board of Supervisors has added an additional $335,573 to the library budget for additional days at the Golden Gate Valley, Presidio and Merced Branches, Deputy City Librarian Jill Bourne said.
“San Francisco’s greatness is interconnected to a number of services, including the quality of our public library system,” Mirkarimi said.
When budget cuts have forced other city services to cut back, the library system has been able to expand. This is in part due to a
2 percent general fund set-aside first approved by voters in 1994 and renewed in 2007, spokeswoman Marcia Schneider said. When the economy worsens, locals tend to use the library more, she said.
Library circulation has risen from 7.3 million in 2004-05 to 8.3 million in 2007-08, according to library data.
“The reality is, libraries provide a foundation for people to self-educate, to be better citizens,” Schneider said.
Locals embraced the news that their libraries will continue to expand.
The Bayview library branch has come to serve not only as a source of books and media, but as a community hub, particularly when Third Street was torn up to install light-rail, resident Jeffrey Bencher said.
“For so long, [our] library didn’t have hours that were completely accessible,” said Gina Fromer, director of the Bayview YMCA branch. “Now, our kids go there every day for some activity — and if I’m a teen and I can go to a poetry reading, I’m not going to be on the street. It’s wonderful.”
Comments from Examiner Readers
12:42 PM MST on Tue., Jul. 22, 2008 re: "Sunday is libraries’ new fun day"
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Examiner Reader said:
Hopefully all library users understand that the $115 fee is only towards items not owned by SFPL. All locally borrowed books have the standard lost and damamged fees. Ask any library employee and they will be willing to explain the process to you.
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Examiner Reader said:
The Ortega Branch is slated to close in late 2008 for demolition and construction of a bigger state-of-the-art library building taking two years. The Sunday hours there would be nice while it lasted at least for a few months this year.
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Examiner Reader said:
The 'controversy' over the $115.00 is misdirected. The $115.00 fee only applies if a library user looses an item and chooses not to obtain a replacement copy. I can't for the life of me understand why so many San Francisco citizens think that they have a right to borrow materials from other institutions, but have no obligation or responsibility to return the materials to the lenders.
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Examiner Reader said:
Actually, the Library refused to spend the money on Sunday hours in 2006-2007 when they were given it the BOS
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Examiner Reader said:
I am surprised you would run a story on the library hours and bare mention of the new $115 fee for link+ without mentioning the controversy surrounding the fee – four supervisors voted against it last week and without any viewpoint or quote from Library Users Association which was also the clear advocate for Sunday hours As a reporter is seems you have been taken in by the powerful PR efforts of the Friends and the Library PIO.
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Examiner Reader said:
"Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi secured $455,000 within the 2006-07 fiscal year budget to expand Sunday hours, and this year’s openings represent the last of the branches slated to reinstate Sunday hours." Sweet, good going Ross, now I have more time to sleep and take my sponge bath in the restroom! Best of all it doesn't count toward the "care not cash" CASH!
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