By John Burton
RED BANK – The borough public library will again be open on Saturdays starting Saturday, Oct. 4.
The library Board of Trustees agreed during a special meeting Thursday evening to reinstate operating hours, which will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., said Elizabeth McDermott, the library’s acting director.
The board had allocated funds at its June meeting to hire five part-time employees to augment the existing staff to allow for the additional four hours a week, according to McDermott.
The five are made of up of three librarians and two library assistants. McDermott said. They have been in training since last month to offer assistance at the library’s circulation and reference desks and the children’s section.
They are temporary, part-time employees who will be on staff from now until the end of the year to cover for regular staff’s vacations and other scheduling gaps. “They’re helping us out in multiple ways,” McDermott said.
The board of trustees trimmed operating hours in the spring due to a budgetary shortfall for the public library, 84 West Front St. The then-board also moved to layoff two permanent fulltime staffers, which became a contentious issue between the board and borough officials, resulting in almost the entire board resigning.
Subsequently, the newly established library board and officials hammered out a budget that resulted in re-instating those employees and allowed for the additional hires.
“We’re crawling our way back,” McDermott said.
