By Jessica Zellers
LIBRARY DIRECTOR

Effective Tuesday, July 5, 2022, the T. B. Scott Free Library will expand its evening hours, staying open one hour later, from 10:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday.

Friday and Saturday hours will remain the same at this time: 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m

Library open hours have been reduced for the past two years. Originally this was due to COVID, but more recently, the biggest challenge has been staffing. Some people are dropping out of the workforce altogether. With inflation at record highs, it doesn’t make financial sense to drive to work if the cost of gas or childcare consumes all your earnings. Other workers have been leaving their positions for jobs with better pay, better benefits, and better conditions, such as opportunities to work from home.

This “Great Resignation” is a boon to the individual. We see evidence of this in Wisconsin’s low unemployment rate of 2.8% in April (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics). But it means that employers must change their practices to attract and retain workers. That is why the City of Merrill revisited its personnel policy last year, implementing more generous vacation leave and flexible scheduling.

The best way to recruit and keep employees is with competitive wages. Ultimately, the library will need better funding from the City of Merrill and Lincoln County, if it is to maintain its professional workforce and increase the open hours. As the library’s Director, I will advocate for increased resources.
But changes like that happen over the course of months and years. For now, we will start with extending our evening hours after Independence Day. As our open positions get filled, new hires get trained, and staffing levels stabilize, we anticipate adding open hours on Friday and Saturday afternoons.

We also hope to find a good balance of library resources and community health practices. COVID levels are high again in Lincoln County. Following the guidance of the local, state, and federal health authorities, we are back to requiring masks for people who enter the building. But we have learned lessons from the first two years of the pandemic, so we will offer library programs outdoors if the weather permits, and indoors if we can do so safely.

I’d like to thank our patrons for their ongoing patience as we work toward more open hours and chart our way through COVID.