Budget Cuts Cause Brooklyn to Close Libraries on Weekends

If you are a friend of the library, don't think about being so friendly on the weekends.

New York City has cut library branch hours throughout Brooklyn. Now almost half of the borough's public libraries will be closed on both Saturday and Sunday. This comes as a huge upset for bibliophiles who actually have jobs or school during the week.

The Brooklyn Public Library system, the nation's fifth largest, has had to decide between laying off employees and eliminating Saturday services due to a $3.4 million decline in revenue. The elimination saves the system a significant amount of money as staff is paid time-and-a-half on weekends.

This isn't the first change in the library system in the past year. In 2009, instead of losing employees the system was forced to cut Sunday hours.

Brooklyn residents should note that while 26 of the borough's branches will now be closed on the weekends, three of the larger branches will now be open seven days a week. Those branches include Park Slope's Central Branch, the McKinley Park Branch in Dyker Heights, and Midwood's Kings Highway branch.

Check your local library to see if its hours have been cut.
Source - The Brooklyn Paper, "Unhappy ending at library as branches are slashed on weekends"