by Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
A tight budget year has led to cutbacks in many county functions including local libraries. But Carrboro officials and library supporters are concerned that the Carrboro branch library at McDougle Middle School took a much bigger cut than its counterparts elsewhere in the county.
“It is absolutely shocking,” Nerys Levy said of the action announced last week by the county. Levy, who chairs the Library Art Committee and is an organizer with Friends of the Library, said that more than 30 patrons — students, parents and others — had to be turned away Tuesday when they showed up at the usual opening time.
In all, Carrboro lost seven of 24 total hours to the cuts. The library is now closed on Monday and Friday and open from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Levy said that the cuts in Carrboro were magnified because the library is not open as much as others.
“There were never enough hours to begin with,” she said, adding that with high gas prices and the added travel patrons are more likely to give up on the idea of using a library altogether.
Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton said he is drafting a letter to the Orange County Board of Commissioners asking for an explanation of the process used to determine the cuts.
Chilton said while he appreciates the county’s need to cut costs he doesn’t understand why the cuts in Carrboro were as broad as they were.
Other reductions for the Orange County Public Library System include closing the Cedar Grove Library on Saturday and a drop in Saturday hours for the main branch in Hillsborough from to 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Hours at the Carrboro Cybrary and the Chapel Hill Public Library remain unchanged.