RRLS Reduces Hours

Patrons of the Rockbridge Regional Library System will need to adjust their schedules as the RRLS has reduced their hours at four of their branches – a reflection of increased operating costs.

“We’re not trying to lay anybody off, so what we’re trying to do is be smart about our situation and recognize that we have some rising costs and seeing what we can eliminate. We always do that before we send in a budget request to the localities – we always look at what we can shave away, because we know we have to be responsible,” RRLS Executive Director Julie Goyette told The News-Gazette in an interview last week.

She continued, “They have rising costs, we have rising costs – we just have to try to work all that out. We get allocations from the local governments, from our foundations, from the state, from the federal government, so all of this – prices have gone up for everybody so it’s not really like we’re trying to point fingers or anything – it’s just this is what it costs to operate and we’re just trying to make that work.”

In an effort to adequately manage funds, Goyette said, RRLS are now closed on Fridays at three of their branches – Bath County, Buena Vista and Glasgow. The RRLS headquarters branch is now closing at 2 p.m. on Saturdays. (It was open Saturdays until 5.) The reduced hours are a consequence of rising costs, which Goyette believes are burdening everybody.

“The main reason is because of rising costs…[rising costs] of everything just like it is for everybody else, our prices are going up,” she said.

Goyette continued, “One example is that we didn’t used to have to pay shipping. We obviously buy our books from a company that because we’re a public library we get discounts, but now they’re charging us shipping and we didn’t used to have to pay that, and obviously other expenses [like] utilities, postage, I mean everything has gone up, so yeah that’s our reality.”

For now, the RRLS’ reduced hours are permanent, but the executive director is hopeful the libraries will revert back to their regular operating hours in the future.