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September 14, 2010
Contact: Communications and Community Relations, 275-4022

IMCPL Announces Reduced Hours of Service Effective October 3, 2010

Reduction in hours will save $1.5 million and keep all branches open

In order to bring its operating budget in line with reduced property tax revenues, the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library has announced a 26 percent reduction in public service hours systemwide to take effect as of Sunday, October 3, 2010.

Based on recommendations of the bi-partisan High Performance Government Team, the reduction in hours will result in a savings of approximately $1.5 million and will allow IMCPL to achieve the goal of keeping all library branches open in 2011. The savings, however, represent only a portion of what is needed to reconcile a projected $4 million revenue shortfall as a result of property tax caps and lower-than-anticipated property tax collections. Other savings will come from various areas, including a $1 million reduction in the Library's books and materials budget, along with reductions in such activities as printing, postage, utilities and data communications. In addition, modest revenue enhancements will result from higher fees for such items as failure to pick up holds and replacing library cards.

Changes at a glance:

• All locations will be open Mondays through Thursdays, except Central Library, which will be closed on Thursdays
• Overall, the total number of hours of service at IMCPL's 22 branch locations and Central Library will be reduced from 1,324 hours to 980 hours
• Branch locations will be closed either Fridays or Saturdays, with a majority of branches being open on Saturdays
• Sunday services will be available at the Glendale, Lawrence, Nora, Pike, Southport, Warren and Wayne branches, as well as Central Library and the InfoZone.
• Hours for the Flanner House Branch and the InfoZone will not change since those libraries are located within community facilities (the Flanner House Community Center and The Children's Museum) that have contracted with IMCPL.

"The new schedule is directly responsive to the public's call for keeping libraries open while we work to achieve the necessary savings to sustain services," stated Laura Bramble, IMCPL CEO. "The hours of service are staggered so that patrons will have a close alternative if their home branch is closed on a particular day," she added.

For listings of new hours of service at all IMCPL locations, visit www.imcpl.org.