Chicago Public Libraries to Be Open All Day on Monday

Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel continues to backpedal on his decision to close the city's public libraries on Mondays. The controversial cost-cutting measure, which was announced in January, was immediately met with criticism not only from librarians, but also from library-goers. "I am convinced that shuttering public libraries on Monday is a disastrous decision that should be reconsidered," said teacher Jay C. Rehak in a January 9 letter to the Chicago Sun Times. "If Chicago is to remain a world-class city, it must maintain a world-class library system."

Emanuel reverses his earlier decision to close public libraries on Monday.
Image source: http://chicagopubliclibrary.tumblr.com/

In reaction to the swift public backlash, Emanuel stated in early February that Chicago Public Library branches will stay open on Mondays, but they will NOT be open all day - just from 2 to 6 PM in order to be accessible to kids when schools let out. "By opening branch libraries on Monday afternoons, we are providing students with a comfortable, safe place to study after school," Emanuel told the media. "As mayor, I've put children and education first and I will continue to ensure libraries are available to students after school." 

Now the Chicago mayor is saying that public libraries will be open all day on Mondays to best serve all members of the community, including caretakers of young children who like to go to storytime earlier in the day. Although Emanuel's complete reversal of his decision to close libraries on Mondays does benefit the library-going public, there is a catch: the city will hire "more than 100 workers to replace librarians," according to the Chicago Tribune. Replacing librarians with "lower-wage library pages [will] allow the city to offer a full day of service on Monday without additional cost, said Rahm Emanuel and Library Commissioner Brian Bannon on July 16, reported the Tribune.

The Chicago Public Library is far from alone in its push to replace librarians with non-librarians to save money. Still, this hiring trend among libraries is distressing to my library school classmates. But there is a hint of a silver lining for MLIS-degreed job seekers who would like to work at public libraries in Chicago. According to a July 16 press release from the Chicago Public Library, there is a "demand for a teen librarian position," which "will be focused on assisting teen patrons with learning the latest in YA literature, technology and interest-based learning. These new librarians will be hired over the next two years, the goal being to have one in each of the 79 Chicago Public Library locations."

Chicago Public Libraries Reopen on Mondays

After a ferocious public outcry that must have caught him off guard, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel reversed his earlier cost-cutting decision to close city libraries on Mondays.

Patrons of Chicago public libraries will no longer be left out in the cold on Mondays.

image source: http://media.travissaul.com

Public libraries will not be open all day on Mondays, however. They will only be open in the afternoons during the academic year, making them available as places of after-school study for students. "As Mayor," said Emanuel, "I've put children and education first and I will continue to ensure libraries are available to students after school."

Last month, Emanuel made the controversial move to close branches of the Chicago Public Library on Mondays. As this decision went into effect, both library goers and library workers boldly expressed their opposition to it. It seems the mayor has heeded the cry of his constituents.

NBC Chicago * February 3, 2012

Libraries to Reopen on Mondays

By Edward McClelland

Less than two weeks after allocating $2 million in resources to open libraries six days a week, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced today that branch locations of the Chicago Public Library will be open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays during the Chicago Public Schools school year. Mondays were already scheduled to be open for eight hours when CPS is not in session during the spring and summer.

“By opening branch libraries on Monday afternoons, we are providing students with a comfortable, safe place to study after school, while also making resources available to other patrons six days a week,” said Mayor Emanuel. “As Mayor, I’ve put children and education first and I will continue to ensure libraries are available to students after school.”

The more than $2 million allocated to open the libraries is a combination of savings and shifted resources, and will allow 90 positions to be placed in CPL branches. This includes shifting 25 library staff from Harold Washington Library to branches; reducing maintenance costs and services at the central location; leaving unfilled positions vacant; and reducing tuition reimbursement allotments.

The Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State Street), Sulzer Regional Library (4455 N. Lincoln), and Woodson Regional Library (9525 S. Halsted), remain open seven days a week.

Branch libraries will be open Monday, February 6 and Monday, February 27, however all Chicago Public

'Feisty' Librarians Raise Voices Over Lost Jobs, Hours

Chicago residents aren't the only ones angered by the decision, made earlier this month, to close city libraries on Mondays. The librarians themselves are up in arms over the closures...and the elimination of nearly 200 library jobs. This week, they took to the streets of Chicago to protest.

After the librarians raised their voices in protest, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel relented on some of his earlier cost-cutting decisions. He agreed to reinstate nearly half of the 176 library workers who were laid off. And he appears to be softening his stance on keeping city libraries closed on Mondays. See the CBS Chicago story below for more details.

Above image source: http://golibrarians.wordpress.com

CBS Chicago * January 23, 2012

Has Emanuel Met His Match in Chicago Librarians?

Chicago library staff protest city budget cuts on Monday.

photo: cbs

CHICAGO (CBS) — They might be the most unlikely of groups to say “No” to the mayor and get away with it: Chicago’s librarians.

Mayor Emanuel has backed off on a cost-cutting move to close libraries on Mondays, despite the library union’s refusal to make concessions.

CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine explains.

They’re a feisty bunch, these librarians, who held protests Monday to demand the Emanuel administration reinstate full hours on Mondays.

Monday morning, Veronica Bonilla found the doors to her neighborhood library locked. She left, disappointed.

“I used to bring the kids to the story time in the morning and they like it, so it’s going to be sad,” she said.

Earlier this month, the mayor ordered the libraries closed on Mondays, after the union refused to agree to work two half-days instead of one full day.

Now, he’s relented, finding the money to do exactly what they want: rehiring nearly half the 176 employees who had been laid off.

Still not enough, they say.

“He has taken those steps. He seems to be realizing the importance of the libraries to the neighborhoods, and we’d like him to work with us to come the rest of the way,” says Anders Lindall, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31.

The mayor says he will not restore all the cuts in library hours and jobs.

“They tried to make the libraries a bargaining chip for undoing the responsibility we had to bringing reforms to the rest of the budget,” Emanuel said. “And I’m not going to undo all the savings we achieved there and somehow try to hold the libraries hostage.”

But so far, the librarians have succeeded in restoring most of the proposed cuts, probably because of the negative perceptions held by moms who bring toddlers to story time, students who use libraries after school and the unemployed who need computers to look for work.