Letters from the Friends of The Embry Hills Library
to County Commissioner Nancy Jester
September, 2016
Commissioner Nancy Jester
Manuel J. Maloof Center
1300 Commerce Drive
Decatur, Georgia 30030
Dear Commissioner Jester:
I am writing to urge you to sustain increased funding for staffing the DeKalb County Public Library System in the 2017 County budget and to consider increasing the budget to fully staff the library system. I am writing on behalf the Friends of the Embry Hills Library, a non-profit group that supports and advocates for our neighborhood library which is a branch of the DeKalb County Public Library System.
We are delighted by the $491,000 increase to library funding in the mid-year 2016 budget and believe that this decision is a step in the right direction to increase accessibility of our libraries for all community members. As I mentioned in our prior letter to you, our library is open only Monday through Thursday, and hours extend past 5 PM only two days a week. The Friends of Embry Hills Library are concerned about these hours because they make it difficult for working adults to use the library, for families to visit the library together, and for children with weekend homework to use the library to the fullest. Our hope is that the increased funding will result in Friday and Saturday hours for neighborhood libraries like ours so that they will be available to all who can benefit from them in the community. Your consistent support of a better staffed library system is critical to the ability of our libraries to fulfill their mission.
As we have discussed the need of better support for staffing the DeKalb County Public Library System in our community, the prospect of increased hours for Embry Hills Library has been met with enthusiasm. In online venues, such as Nextdoor, people have said: “Weekend hours at the library are critical for many other families who don't have access to books in the house or who are limited English proficient but desperately want their children to have academic success,” and, “What a wonderful idea.... having the library open when so many more people can get there would be such a boon to the working parents. Being able to bring their children would be so beneficial to the youngsters…” Some community members expressed surprise that this was an issue: “I agree, can't believe they have these amazing facilities and they can't afford to staff them. Many people who need computer access need evening and hour weekends.”
The Friends of Embry Hills Library urges the Board of Commissioners to sustain and increase funding to staff our libraries in the 2017 budget. Our librarians and the excellent services provided by the library are central to and valued by our community. With your help our libraries can be accessible to all the tax payers who make them possible.
Thank you for your careful consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Leah Robin,
President, Friends of the Embry Hills Library.
6/7/16
Commissioner Nancy Jester
Manuel J. Maloof Center
1300 Commerce Drive
Decatur, Georgia 30030
Dear Commissioner Jester:
I am writing to urge you to increase the staffing for the DeKalb County Public Library System to a level that will allow larger libraries to stay open during weekend hours, freeing neighborhood library staff to work weekend hours in their own libraries. I am writing on behalf the Friends of the Embry Hills Library, a non-profit group that supports and advocates for our neighborhood library which is a branch of the DeKalb County Public Library System.
As with many neighborhood libraries in DeKalb County, our library is open only Monday through Thursday, and hours extend past 5 PM only two days a week. The Friends of Embry Hills Library are concerned about these hours because they make it difficult for working adults to use the library, for families to visit the library together, and for children with weekend homework to use the library to the fullest.
We expressed these concerns to DeKalb County Public Library System Director, Alison Weissinger, and asked for Embry Hills’ existing hours simply to be shifted to include Friday and Saturday hours, and not to be expanded. She explained to us that because the DeKalb Public Library System is at reduced Branch staffing, that staff from small libraries like ours work in larger libraries on the weekends to keep them operating. Therefore, it is not possible for Embry Hills to shift hours to better accommodate all community members.
Embry Hills Library is a loved institution that is celebrating its 25th year of service to our community. It provides much needed services and is an easy walk from a number of surrounding residential neighborhoods, providing access to people without transportation. In a recent survey of community members’ preferences for Embry Hills Library programming, the constrained library hours were raised repeatedly. “We always miss the fun programming because we both work full time and our toddler goes to preschool,” wrote one parent. Another wrote: “Need more programs and hours in evening and weekend. Neither my teens nor I can attend current programs in afternoon. I can't get to this branch often due to my commute and your hours of operation, or would borrow books much more frequently.” A third community member suggested: “Open on weekends. Current hours make the library very hard to take advantage of.” A library patron urged programming for people learning English as a second language, saying the library was critical to them because they: “…don’t have transportation but could walk here.”
I urge you to visit our library and to see for yourself the central role it plays in the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as the quality customer service and expertise offered by our library staff. The Friends of Embry Hills Library urges the Board of Commissioners to increase funding for library staffing to a level that will allow for more flexible scheduling in smaller neighborhood libraries. These community institutions should be accessible to all the tax payers who make them possible.
Thank you for your careful consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Leah Robin,
President, Friends of the Embry Hills Library.
Commissioner Nancy Jester
Manuel J. Maloof Center
1300 Commerce Drive
Decatur, Georgia 30030
Dear Commissioner Jester:
I am writing to urge you to increase the staffing for the DeKalb County Public Library System to a level that will allow larger libraries to stay open during weekend hours, freeing neighborhood library staff to work weekend hours in their own libraries. I am writing on behalf the Friends of the Embry Hills Library, a non-profit group that supports and advocates for our neighborhood library which is a branch of the DeKalb County Public Library System.
As with many neighborhood libraries in DeKalb County, our library is open only Monday through Thursday, and hours extend past 5 PM only two days a week. The Friends of Embry Hills Library are concerned about these hours because they make it difficult for working adults to use the library, for families to visit the library together, and for children with weekend homework to use the library to the fullest.
We expressed these concerns to DeKalb County Public Library System Director, Alison Weissinger, and asked for Embry Hills’ existing hours simply to be shifted to include Friday and Saturday hours, and not to be expanded. She explained to us that because the DeKalb Public Library System is at reduced Branch staffing, that staff from small libraries like ours work in larger libraries on the weekends to keep them operating. Therefore, it is not possible for Embry Hills to shift hours to better accommodate all community members.
Embry Hills Library is a loved institution that is celebrating its 25th year of service to our community. It provides much needed services and is an easy walk from a number of surrounding residential neighborhoods, providing access to people without transportation. In a recent survey of community members’ preferences for Embry Hills Library programming, the constrained library hours were raised repeatedly. “We always miss the fun programming because we both work full time and our toddler goes to preschool,” wrote one parent. Another wrote: “Need more programs and hours in evening and weekend. Neither my teens nor I can attend current programs in afternoon. I can't get to this branch often due to my commute and your hours of operation, or would borrow books much more frequently.” A third community member suggested: “Open on weekends. Current hours make the library very hard to take advantage of.” A library patron urged programming for people learning English as a second language, saying the library was critical to them because they: “…don’t have transportation but could walk here.”
I urge you to visit our library and to see for yourself the central role it plays in the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as the quality customer service and expertise offered by our library staff. The Friends of Embry Hills Library urges the Board of Commissioners to increase funding for library staffing to a level that will allow for more flexible scheduling in smaller neighborhood libraries. These community institutions should be accessible to all the tax payers who make them possible.
Thank you for your careful consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Leah Robin,
President, Friends of the Embry Hills Library.