Library Executive Director John Oliver Gonzales told the Variety that this is a big development.
He said starting next week, Joeten-Kiyu will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
“We are happy to tell our patrons that we now have more time to serve their reading needs because we know the importance of having our services and reading materials accessible to the community and the reading public,” Gonzales said.
He added that they are very thankful to the Legislature for approving their proposal to resume operations to 80 hours or 40 hours per week.
“This is really good news for us, for our patrons and for the community. We feel honored and humbled,” Gonzales said. He said the library gets an average of 500 to a thousand patrons who come in and use the its facilities and resources every day.
Joeten-Kiyu’s funding is now $217,299 after the Legislature supported the library’s data-driven request to restore the operation hours to 80 hours.
Gonzales said he cannot stress enough how important it is for the library to continue to provide uninterrupted services to its thousands of patrons, and that they want to reach as many people as they can through mobile services to the different villages on a regular basis so people who can’t come to the library can still avail of reading materials.
The Joeten-Kiyu Public Library has a current registered patron count of 34,547, and circulates almost 60,000 books, DVDs and materials.
For more information about Joeten-Kiyu and its various services, see www.cnmilibrary.com or call 235-7316 or 235-READ.
