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Palm Harbor Library to open earlier

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published January 1, 2007

PALM HARBOR - By 10 a.m. there's usually a small crowd outside the Palm Harbor Library waiting for the doors to open.

Starting Tuesday, that will change as the library opens an hour earlier.

And the 9 a.m. start time is the just one in a series of changes coming, said library director Gene Coppola.

"Eventually we have to have later evenings," Coppola said. "Eventually we have to be open till 9 at night. Eventually we have to be open on Sundays."

That's good news, say dedicated library patrons.

"I think it's a great idea because when I volunteer there on Friday mornings there's always a line before 10 waiting to get in," said Evelyn Towns, a retired nurse who also frequents the library at 2330 Nebraska Ave. for Quilters' Crossing meetings three times a month. She said she won't mind starting her Fridays at the library an hour earlier. Adding Sunday hours is also a good idea, she said.

The changes will come in increments, Coppola said, as staffing needs fit the new schedule. A new staffer was hired recently and Coppola is hoping to hire a new employee for the children's department.

The library has 24 staff members, a little more than half of them are full-time, Coppola said. The library serves about 27,000 people a month and has more than 150,000 titles in its collection.

The most recent changes will affect those who want to just dash in and out, Coppola said.

"Ten o'clock is just too late" to open, he said.

[Last modified December 31, 2006, 21:43:30]