Anonymous Patron writes “A couple interesting reports from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin – Honolulu,HI. Lack of staff persistent cause of library closures
The state public library system has restored half of the service hours that were cut three years ago due to tight budgets, but recouping the other half seems a distant prospect because of difficulty in recruiting necessary staff.
The system’s 2,038 total hours of operation were reduced by 200 hours in 2003 as most of the state’s libraries were reduced to 40-hour weeks to cope with a budget cut and temporary hiring freeze imposed by Gov. Linda Lingle.
Also, An Editorial, “Public libraries’ benefits far outweigh their costs” says People are more in need of libraries in lean times when families can less afford to buy books or pay for other entertainment, and when adults are looking to improve skills for better jobs. Few government programs are as worthy of tax money as public libraries.”
No staff?
There is difficulty in recruiting the necessary staff because librarianship is no longer seen as a viable career option to many people. They choose to do something else that is more promising or pays better. There is also the problem of shrinking funding.