Greenwood library planning to open earlier on weekends

Four years after laying off employees and cutting hours, the Greenwood Public Library is responding to the public and adding hours back.

Beginning Jan. 1, the library will open two hours earlier on Fridays and Saturdays.

The change is a part of the library’s strategic planning process, which included gathering comments and suggestions from three, 20-person focus groups and more than 200 surveys, assistant head of reference Valerie Moore said.

The most common suggestion: Open earlier on the weekends.

Starting in 2016, the library will begin opening at 11 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Since 2012, the library has opened at 1 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

The library won’t be hiring new staff members and will still rely on current employees and volunteers. And adding the four hours wasn’t a concern because the library is more financially stable now, Moore said.

In 2016, the library’s budget will be about the same as the budget the library had in 2010, before the cuts were made, which will allow more hours for staff members, director

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The Greenwood Public Library is open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays 1 to 5 p.m.

Beginning in 2016, the library will have the same hours Monday through Thursday, but will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

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