For Immediate Release:
March 7, 2012
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF. – Funding cuts are forcing Milpitas Public Library to reduce its operation hours by 18 percent, beginning April 1. However, Santa Clara County Library District officials assure Milpitas Library patrons that they can continue to expect quality services at their library, which they have managed to keep open seven days a week.
“The Milpitas Library provides extraordinary services and I commend Library staff for looking at the best possible alternatives to keep it open every day,” said County of Santa Clara Supervisor Dave Cortese, District 3, where the library is located. “I am pleased to see how proactive our Library staff is to ensure residents are able to use the library and its many resources every day of the week.”
Since August 2005, the City of Milpitas has funded staff positions to extend the Milpitas Library hours, at a cost of approximately $400,000 per year. However, the economic downturn has impacted City contributions to the library and funding for extra hours is no longer possible. On February 21, the Milpitas City Council voted to discontinue funding for Library hours effective April 1.
“We are extremely grateful for the generous contributions the Milpitas Library has received from the City of Milpitas for over six years,” said Derek Wolfgram, Deputy County Librarian for Santa Clara County Library. “As the City is no longer able to sustain funding for library staff positions, we are working diligently to continue to support as many service hours as possible with the resources that are available to us.”
Recently, library staff reviewed hour-by-hour usage data and conducted surveys for both Library resident and non-resident users. Staff learned that members of the Milpitas community prefer a seven-day service and consider evening hours usage very important.
“We realized that by reducing less busy morning hours three days per week, the Library could make more efficient use of its limited staff by only opening for a single work shift each day ,” said Linda Arbaugh, Milpitas Community Librarian. “We are keeping the Library open at the most convenient times for our patrons.”
The Library will open at 1:00 p.m., instead of 10:00 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and will close at 6:00 p.m. on Thursdays, instead of the current 9:00 p.m. closing time. The new schedule will be:
New Milpitas Library Hours, effective April 1, 2012 (54 hours) is:
Monday - Wednesday 1:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Thursday - Saturday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday noon - 6:00 pm
Milpitas Library Current schedule until March 31, 2012 (66 hours) is:
Monday-Thursday 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Friday-Saturday 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Sunday 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
About Milpitas Public Library
Located at 160 N. Main Street in Milpitas, California, the Milpitas Library is a 60,000 square foot building with over 300,000 items in its collection. The library, which was built around an historic grammar school, opened in January 2009. The computer training center in the historic part of the building housed the first Santa Clara County Library in Milpitas in the 1950’s. Other features of the building include an auditorium, four study rooms for groups, Wifi, and Internet computers. The library has eight express self-check machines and an automated book return system which speed up library operations considerably. An average of 1,700 people visit the library each day. Many more visit virtually, taking advantage of the library’s online catalog, databases and ebooks. For additional information about the Milpitas Library and the Santa Clara County Library District, please visit www.sccl.org, opens a new window or call 408-262-1171.
About the Santa Clara County Library
Established by the County Board of Supervisors in 1914, the Santa Clara County Library District serves residents of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga and the unincorporated area of Santa Clara County. It also includes two bookmobiles and a Virtual Library. The Santa Clara County Library collection includes 1.8 million books, videos, CDs, DVDs, audiobooks, ebooks and extensive online resources that users can access from home or work.
Santa Clara County Library is one of the top 100 libraries in the United States. For eleven years, it has ranked as one of the best in the nation for its size by Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings which uses 15 different benchmark measures such as collections, circulation, visits and customer service. Also recognized as one of America’s 2011 Star Libraries by Library Journal and with more than 3.8 million visits each year, the Santa Clara County Library District is one of the most-used public resources in the region. Visit Santa Clara County Library online at www.sccl.org, opens a new window
Media Contact: Gwendolyn Mitchell/Marina Hinestrosa, Office of Public Affairs, (408) 299-5119; Melinda Cervantes/Derek Wolfgram, Santa Clara County Library (408) 293-2326 ext. 3001/3002
