Gifts from parents restore full library hours
| 14 October 2009
BERKELEY — Thanks to gifts from Berkeley parents, library hours across campus will return to normal, and weekend reductions forced by state funding cuts will end over the next month.
"Recent events and concerns raised by students, faculty, and staff served as important reminders to all of us that libraries are a critical resource for students and a vital part of this university," University Librarian Tom Leonard said in announcing the decision late Wednesday. It was made in consultation with Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer, he added.
The return to the regular schedule will be phased in, beginning with one library this weekend, to allow library managers the time to hire and train student workers to staff the expanded hours. All libraries should be back on their pre-budget-cut schedule by mid-November, according to Leonard. The first library affected will be announced Friday.
Leonard reminded the campus community that many of the libraries aren't being used to capacity and have space available through the week and on weekends, including more than 1,000 seats available in Moffitt and the Gardner Stacks. Last week, a donor provided a gift to keep those two libraries open 24 hours a day during finals week.
Current information on all campus libraries can be found on the library website.