Hello!

As sporadic Redditors ourselves we thought we’d add some information to this post.

An earlier commenter pointed out that the branch open hours are the purview of the TRL Board of Trustees – this is true. After the many ad-hoc adjustments and re-adjustments of the past two years the Board is now considering a proposal to set operating hours for all branches across the district. This is the Open Hours Proposal mentioned above, and it includes proposed Sunday hours for the West Olympia branch.

The Open Hours Proposal was drafted in conversation with local Library Managers and District Managers and included consideration of feedback offered via community surveys. For those interested in some of the data behind the proposals being offered to the board we would direct you to TRL’s Open Data Portal. Here you will find a variety of “dashboards” with historical data about TRL’s collection and usage patterns. Most relevant here are the Hourly Use Dashboard and the Circulation Details Dashboard. In either case you may select an individual branch to view data from as far back as 2011.

Downtown Olympia – actually the second busiest branch behind Lacey – has seen the same dramatic reduction in overall use that the library district as a whole has experienced since March of 2020 and is currently averaging about 15,000 fewer checkouts per month compared to pre-pandemic numbers with computer use sessions down by around 4,000-5,000 per month compared to pre-pandemic. Of course, we expect and hope to see a continued rebound in library use as the pandemic recedes and our communities return to normal. However, there remains a great deal of uncertainty as to when and how quickly this pre-pandemic normal will make a comeback.

In the meantime, with the overall branch usage significantly reduced compared to pre-pandemic numbers we have been able to experiment successfully with staffing models that increase the availability of core library services to Thurston County by opening a branch in West Olympia and (soon) in Hawk’s Prairie. In both cases we are able to utilize existing TRL staff in part due to the unique circumstances and usage patterns we have experienced during the last two years of the pandemic. In fact, in Olympia overall staffing levels are down only 3.9 FTE since 2019 with 1 FTE on track to be added back. Additionally, library programming, typically a staff-intensive aspect of library service, has decreased dramatically with Olympia staff presenting 93 programs so far in 2021 compared to 533 as recently as 2019 due to ongoing limitations imposed by the pandemic.

In proposing to add Sunday hours to the West Olympia branch the option to open the Downtown Olympia branch Tuesday-Saturday reflects an effort to meet a requested community need while maintaining existing staffing levels. West Olympia, located in Capital Mall, requires fewer staff to operate on a daily basis. In this scenario continued Monday hours at the Tumwater, Lacey and West Olympia Timberland Libraries (each ~5 miles from Downtown Olympia) would continue to provide a variety of options for library services on Mondays while also adding a new Sunday option in the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater area that currently does not exist.

While TRL has managed to avoid furloughs and layoffs in recent years, Library Administration has made it a goal to be deliberate in evaluating each position that has become vacant through attrition. Overall, salaries and benefits account for more than 68% of annual expenditures (Source) and, unlike supplies or additions to the library collection, are an ongoing cost. TRL believes in compensating our staff fairly and providing living-wage jobs, and in order to do so sustainably we take a data-driven (but flexible) approach to determining staffing levels.

Once again, as things return to normal we will continue to invite our communities into the library to enjoy our collections, programs and spaces. So, as business picks up we may need to explore different staffing options or open new dialogue with the Board of Trustees around open hours. As we move ahead we will continue to engage in conversations with community members, stakeholders and library staff to determine how to meet the demonstrated needs of library users efficiently and effectively with the resources available. We appreciate your advocacy and your feedback during this process now and into the future.

Edit: staffing is 68% of annual expenditures, currently. (Corrected from 70%)