After being forced to cut hours earlier this year, the Red Bank Public Library proudly announced the return of its Saturday hours of 10 a.m.-2 p.m., effective immediately. JEREMY GROSSMAN/STAFF In a year that has seen layoffs and budget challenges for the Red Bank Public Library, good news finally arrived as the library announced the restoration of Saturday hours, having been forced to remove them earlier this year.
At a special meeting of the Red Bank Library Board of Trustees on Oct. 2, the board voted to restore the Saturday hours of 10 a.m.-2 p.m., effective immediately.
The change was made possible after the library hired five part-time seasonal staff members. Three part-time librarians and two part-time library assistants were hired last month and will be employed until the end of the year, according to Sara Hansen, the president of the board.
The next step for the library is to open on Wednesday evenings, which will be possible once the library hires its new director in the coming months, Hansen said.
Members of the board said they were glad to announce the news to the community.
“I feel elated because now I can come into the library on Saturday,” said Councilwoman Kathy Horgan, who is the board’s council representative. “ … I work five days a week in New York City, and usually on Thursday nights, it’s hard to get here when the library is open because I have other meetings and events to go to.”
She said this development would help a “large” part of the population that can’t make it to the library during the week.
“So this is good — we’re moving forward toward making a lot of progress,” Horgan said.
Acting Library Director Elizabeth McDermott said Saturday hours would allow for the return of services and programs that had been canceled in March. For example, computer tutoring, which currently occurs on Thursday nights, can also be offered on Saturdays, as well as children’s programs such as Halloween and Christmas parties.
The current hours at the library, which is located at 84 W. Front St., are 1-5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays; 1-9 p.m. Thursdays; and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays.