LIBRARY HOURS CHANGE

by Judy Haskell, Director
Hampton Falls Free Library
(603) 926-3682
www.hamptonfallslibrary.org

As of September 2, 2008, hours at the Hampton Falls Free Library will be Tuesday, 10 - 8, Wednesday, 1 - 8, Thursday 10 - 6, Friday 10 - 5 and Saturday 9 - 1 for a total of 36 hours a week.

When the trustees and I began to play with the idea of being closed an extra day last spring, the price of oil was skyrocketing and we were concerned that the amount we had budgeted for oil was significantly lower than what our pre-buy price was likely to be. I felt it was important not to lose any public or staff hours in the process, because once hours are lost, it's hard to add them back. The staff was very willing to make accommodations in their schedules and were involved in coming up with new times. I mentioned our plan to be open one less day a week to a local oil provider, who said that we might use anywhere from 5 to 10% less.

We've been sending out e-mails, printing new bookmarks, posting signs, and changing the message on the answering machine reminding our users of our new hours, and most folks seem to be taking it in stride. Saving money is always popular in Hampton Falls.