The good news is that the Peoria Public Library is finally reopening its Local History and Genealogy section that was closed for a while due to the $28 million remodeling/renovation/building project. The bad news is, it’s only open limited hours:

Peoria Public Library opened the new Local History and Genealogy Room at the Peoria Public Library Main Library on Tuesday, March 15 at 10:00 a.m.

The new facility is on Lower Level One. The room, enclosed with glass walls, will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday. During construction, the department was located off-site and materials were moved back in January and arranged in the new space.

Wait a minute. The taxpayers just spent $28 million for a library “expansion,” and now we’re being told they’re limiting access to arguably the most vital section of the library? Only certain days? And then only a portion of those days?

I was just looking over the library’s strategic plan. I’m wondering how reducing hours will “increase value to customers” (objective 2.1), or “enhance and optimize facilities” (objective 4.1). Or how going from a full-time research library to a part-time research library jibes with the library’s vision: “To advance learning, knowledge, personal growth, and the quality of life in the greater Peoria area.” Does “advance” mean “go backwards” now?

“The Peoria Public Library,” the strategic plan promises, “will strive to provide … innovative services and collections that are readily accessible [emphasis added], easy to use, and relevant to community needs, and that are known and valued by every segment of the community.” Does “readily accessible” mean taking materials that used to be available every day and hour the library was open and putting them on a special floor that’s now only open limited hours?

Perhaps the library’s stated mission should be recast from “Bringing people and information together,” to “Bringing people and information together only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 to 4 and Saturday from 9 to noon,” or “Bringing people and information together less often.”

Library Director Ed Szynaka has not responded to my request for comment.

UPDATE: I received an e-mail this morning from the library director. Apparently he did try to write me earlier, but transposed a couple of numbers in my e-mail address, which is why I didn’t receive it. Here’s his response:

Thank you for contacting Peoria Public Library. I am unable to tell from your communication whether you have been to visit our new Local History room which has only been open to the public for two hours as I write this. If you have visited I believe you will have noticed the many physical improvements that have been made both to care for the collection and to offer it more easily to our visitors. As you may be aware, so much of the collection is unique and one-of-a-kind and our objective was to offer as much access as possible in a controlled environment that would protect it. We believe we have succeeded.

You have stated that Local History is the most valuable resource Peoria Public Library offers. Certainly it is unique, but it is not the resource in the widest demand nor the sole purpose of the library. As Library Director in these tough economic times, I must balance the needs of the entire community with our operating budget. The operating budget is a separate issue from our bond measure. Our $28 million building project created structures that will enable our community to have the very best library service for the next several generations. It is unfortunate that at the time Peoria Public Library is reopening, operating funds are not as readily available and we must live within our means.

We are just now entering a new era of library service which will reach its full potential as the remainder of our buildings reopen in 2011. As with any new venture, we must have a starting place from which to launch operations and as public usage and demand show what hours of operation work well for our community we will adjust. In the meantime, we offer 21 hours of open access to the collection as well as online databases that can be used in any Peoria Public Library and some from home 24/7 with a library card. Many local history questions can be answered through our reference department if immediate answers are required. Our Local History collection has a wonderful new space that will protect our holdings and volunteers from The Peoria County Genealogical Society are helping to staff the room.

I thank you for input and assure you that we are keeping close watch on usage and demand for all our library services.

Sincerely,

Edward M. Szynaka
Director
Peoria Public Library

UPDATE 2: Here is my response to Mr. Szynaka:

Dear Mr. Szynaka,

Thank you for your response. I still vociferously disagree with the decision to restrict hours to the local history and genealogy section.

Taxpayers were assured at the time of the referendum (and many times subsequently) that the library would be able to staff the branches adequately even with the addition of a new branch on the north end. We were told that the new open floor plan downtown and self-checkout devices would allow the library to maintain the same level of service with fewer staff members. In fact, the library’s strategic plan states explicitly, “A new, revitalized Main Street Branch will be able to offer better service with a smaller staff.” [emphasis added] We were told that operating costs would be further kept in check because the upgrades would provide better energy efficiency. We were told the library would actually make more materials directly available as they would be moved out of the basement onto the shelves. Now you’re telling me and all the other taxpayers of Peoria that you can’t afford the operating costs resulting from your capital improvements/expansion after all? And that as a result you have to restrict access to even more materials than were previously restricted?

Let me put it bluntly: I never would have supported the library referendum if I had known the Local History and Genealogy section would be locked up and inaccessible over 60% of the library’s operating hours. I even wrote a letter of support for a grant application for the library that specifically singled out the local history resources as being a vital asset to our community. Now you’re effectively taking that asset away from the working community.

You asked if I had visited the new Local History room. The answer is no — not because I don’t want to visit, but because I can’t visit due to the restricted hours. I work during the day, like most people in Peoria. I note that the room is open for three hours on Saturday, but in the summer when the branch closes on Saturday, even that won’t be an option. So the materials are now effectively inaccessible to the working community.

You mentioned that this resource is “unique.” That is precisely why I feel so strongly that it should be available whenever the library is open. Unlike novels, movies, and even computers that can be accessed from several sources, the local history information in your collection is only available in one place: the Peoria Public Library. If patrons want to search pre-1991 editions of the Peoria Journal Star or historic City Council minutes archives or the expansive vertical file, there is no other place this information can be accessed.

I respectfully and earnestly request that the library keep its promises to provide better service by making the Local History and Genealogy section fully accessible to the public again.

Sincerely,
C. J. Summers

I wrote to Peoria Public Library Director Ed Szynaka and asked him for his response to anonymous reports I’ve been getting about books being indiscriminately discarded, as reported earlier on my blog. He sent me this explanation:

First of all let me assure you that our weeding guidelines, created and adopted from best library practices, are still in force. I do understand that it is human nature to see an action and believe you know what is happening and to spread that tale with your own interpretation. My explanation for why people are reporting such things to you are that they do not understand what they are seeing. They are responding to the end of the process and not seeing what happens ahead of that.

They see recycling bins of books and do not or may not realize the steps leading up to that point. Also, they don’t see how much we are keeping or realize where books are going. For examples, truckloads of books are being taken to Lakeview Branch to bolster their collection during construction. Other books are boxed to be moved within the building.

Yes, people are seeing large amounts of materials leave our building. Some are being recycled. Other materials are being donated to other libraries and in some cases sold so that we have further funding to purchase the materials Peorians want on our shelves. For example, we did not throw away bound copies of Railway Age. That title and other periodicals have gone to a service that makes them available to other types of libraries, such as academic libraries, that want to complete their collections. Periodicals were weeded and then double-checked by our local history authority who did have the final say on retaining some titles and in fact, pulled bound periodicals to be retained for the local history collection.

For many of the items that are weeded, we know we can obtain this information either online or through inter-library loan for the few patrons who may want to access it. It would be irresponsible to continue to use large amounts of space for items in poor condition or items that only one or two people want to use. Other items have gone to other academic libraries where students of various topics want, need and will use the information on a regular basis

You mentioned that it was reported to you weeding was being sped up. In reality weeding is not being sped up, but the staff is very focused. More people are working on the project for longer hours, but they do not proceed any more quickly. For instance, a team of professional, Master-degreed librarians are involved with checking materials before anything is discarded as part of the weeding process.

The decisions are made carefully, and then the last step occurs when librarians at computers are quickly scanning and discarding books. As this last task has become familiar our staff have become very practiced at the physical motion required and yes, they have “sped up” their ability to scan, but the weeding process itself is not done any more quickly.

Another visual effect that is contributing to the sense that the Main Library is being emptied is that we are in the process of clearing three floors – second, first and IB – and moving all books to the basement so we continue to retrieve them for the public during construction. That moving is going on at this moment and lends to the sense of materials disappearing when they are actually being relocated.

You mentioned that perhaps we should be using our expansion to house books and weed more carefully. The extra square footage you may be hearing about is only our new stair tower and entrance, not space for library materials. We will have the same square footage within the library itself, although IB will now be a public floor with a dedicated Local History and Genealogy room as well as an expanded gallery and more public meeting space.

I do hope this has answered your questions and as always I appreciate your continued support for Peoria Public Library.

I would only add for clarification purposes that when I mentioned that the library was gaining square footage, I was not referring to the main branch in isolation, but to the entire Peoria Public Library (all branches). They are building a new north branch and dramatically expanding the Lincoln branch. Those add a significant amount of square footage.

My thanks to Mr. Szynaka for taking the time to respond.