An Open and Shut Case
Citizens often say they want school libraries open longer. But do they?
Staff -- School Library Journal, 10/1/2000
If you open it, they will come. That's the thinking behind many schools' decision to keep their libraries open after school. Why shut the library at 3 p.m., the thinking goes, when you can keep it open and put those taxpayer resources to further good use? But school librarians in upstate Corning, NY, learned recently that opening your doors after hours does not necessarily bring hordes of eager patrons. In fact, these librarians saw something of a ho-hum response. "I was really disappointed. I thought with all the hype, we would get more people in than we did," says Elizabeth Herrick, librarian at Corning-Painted Post West High School. The Corning-Painted Post district didn't plan after-school library hours until about a year ago, when taxpayers voted down two efforts to raise taxes for the Corning Area Public Library. The defeats led to the extraordinary situation of the library having to shut its doors. Thanks to a $50,000 state grant, the district offered to open its school libraries to the public a few nights a week. Starting in January, four schools--two high schools, a middle school, and an elementary school--kept their libraries open until 8 p.m. either one or two nights a week. But the response was decidedly mixed. At Corning-Painted Post East High School, Librarian Lorraine Barker saw just a handful of kids, along with maybe two or three adults. But Barker did have a brainstorm that brought in lots of senior citizens. She offered formal classes on how to surf the Net. Herrick, on the other hand, at Corning West High School, saw few adults, but was pleased that at least half a dozen kids showed up each week. And Kent Phillips Elementary School saw mainly homeschoolers--typically heavy users of public libraries--and a few college students taking children's literature courses. Librarians in Corning say that even if they had the money, they're not sure they'd recommend opening the libraries at night again. Then again, they probably won't have to: after a one-year hiatus, the public library, now called the Southeastern Steuben County Library, is set to re-open next month.--Andrea Glick
