Expanded Library Hours for A Community "Desperate for Access to Knowledge and Technology"

Brooklyn Public Library expanding its hours despite budget crunch. (New York Daily News, 8/11/2011)

Excerpt: The Brooklyn Public Library is launching a big expansion of its hours despite the city's budget crunch - and it isn't costing a dime.

Branches will open their doors for 21% longer starting next month - with many adding Saturday service and others adding extra hours without spending extra cash.

"I'm actually doing business with [$1.2million] less and I'm still doing all of this," said interim Executive Director Linda Johnson, who was brought in last year to overhaul the system after the past two directors left amid controversy. "We're seeing a community that is really desperate for access to knowledge and technology."

Librarians have traditionally come in as many as two hours before branches open to the public to count cash from fines and do other administrative work, Johnson said.

It's a system that lingered even after those tasks were automated. Johnson decided to scrap it and have librarians on the clock only while libraries are open.