Toledo library officials propose reinstating Sunday hours

Oct. 18—Toledo Lucas County Public Library officials will soon decide whether to expand the system's hours.

Executive Director Jason Kucsma said administrators are planning to bring a proposal to the board on Oct. 28 for Sunday hours at four library branches, Sylvania, Heatherdowns, Sanger, and Oregon.

The existing plan calls for them to be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. each Sunday, beginning Jan. 2.

The proposal is to be presented to the library's community relations committee on Thursday.

Officials are not seeking Sunday hours for the Main Library in in downtown Toledo, Mr. Kucsma said.

Hosting special events there on Sundays, however, would remain a possibility, he said.

"The bottom line is, we see much more traffic at the branches [on Sunday]," he said.

Last year, the library closed to the public along with many other entities as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Starting in June, 2020, curbside and phone services were brought back and throughout the past year, the library's operations have expanded in line with the recommended guidelines.

In January, library leadership announced an expanded hours schedule that did not include Sunday hours.

Mr. Kucsma said the proposed expanded hours would bring the library back to pre-pandemic levels of operation or slightly more than pre-pandemic levels. The idea, he said, is to provide more equitable distribution of hours system-wide.

In the past, the Toledo library system has cut Sunday hours as a response to financial shortages. In 2002, library officials cut Sunday hours after a reduction in state library funding, according to Blade archives. Those hours were reinstated in 2004 after a levy was passed by Lucas County voters.

Sunday hours were cut again in 2009 in response to the financial crisis and then reinstated in 2012, according to Blade archives.

First Published October 18, 2021, 5:09pm