This is a sham to close libraries on Mondays. Hours could be shortened, but to close completely is not a good thing for the people of Chicago. If you're a student or work non-convential hours, Monday may be the only time to get to a library. A library serves many purposes, including the use of a computer, which for some residents is the only way to conduct research, write a paper, email, print, etc. I was an adjunct professor at a Chicago community college and I know that for many of my students needed these services. And, of course, the college library was closed on Sundays!

First, the mayor cuts $8 million from the library system. We are the third largest city of a phenomenally wealthy country.
Chicago has roughly $700 million in unallocated TIF funds. So then he gives $15 million in TIF money to the CME Corp to renovate traders' bathrooms in the CBoT building.
Now the mayor is handing it out to developers who are building upscale grocery stores in affluent neighborhoods.
But not a measly $8 million for our libraries?

The Chicago Public Library budget has enough money to pay for all those deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners, their secretaries, and the rest of the bloated bureaucracy that created the budget that closes the branches and Mondays and fired the employees that shelve the books (Pages) yet didn’t touch any of their over-paid jobs.

Children go the library branches after school to wait for their parents to get off from work. With less than a week’s notice of the Monday closings, I doubt a lot of kids and their parents got the news that their kids are being left out in the cold.

Also, books came due today because these thoughtless bureaucrats didn’t plan in advance so the book drops will be filled to overflowing.

Asking library staff to work 6 days a week is unfair to workers. Asking library users to remember a bizarre array of branch hours and to accept subpar library service is unfair to taxpayers. Library cuts hurt everyone.

It's likely that our previous mayor stretched the limits of the library system too far. We probably have more libraries than we really need in Chicago. However, the investment has already been made into these buildings, their collections, and these neighborhoods which have come to rely on library services for all sorts of people and age groups. I'm not saying the budget needs to be expanded, but we should be supporting the system that we built with sufficient staff and money to buy new materials.

Exactly, Stephanie. Closing Mon & Fri mornings will mean that library workers will work six days per week (4 full days and 2 half days). What other city department has been asked to do that? And why has this fact been omitted from practically every article I've seen on this topic?

And Ann Johnson, it's true that assistant commissioners make a lot of money. But the Library has never been the city department known for graft, bribes, corruption, etc. It was already running pretty lean and now these recent cuts have devastated it.

The City of Chicago must have millions because they are spending 10s of Millions of dollars on changing steam water pumping stations to a much more costly electric pumping station

In all of the discussion about keeping the libraries open I have only heard we need to keep branch libraries open for school kids. Instead of having so many branch libraries, why not have more homework centers for kids? These would not have to be staffed like a full service library is. This would be less expensive to operate and still be a place for kids to go after school.

It is inconceivable that a few million dollars cannot be found in this "world-class" city's budget to restore library hours. It is a matter of priorities. Everyone does not have a computer at home; many people need access to newspapers and books that they cannot afford to purchase. As a life-long Chicagoan, I am incredibly saddened but also angered that our libraries are not available six days a week. I am also very tired of hearing the closings are the library employees' fault. Please, let's search through the budget to find funds to restore an important city resource: our libraries. Surely, there is something else to cut that will not downgrade the image of our city.

Lawrence Msall made the ridiculous statement that the libraries are closed "2 Mondays a month" anyway. I believe he was referring to the MLK day holiday, and President's Day in February. Possibly a Monday off for Memorial Day in May???? Why didn't anyone call him on this statement? This might equal 3 or 4 Monday holidays in a year. I think we would love to have libraries open on some of these school days off, but this means more librarians and staff need to be rehired to cover these hours as well as the hours they are proposing to be closed on other days.

Surplus TIF funds should immediately be transferred to the library to restore branch hours to 48 a week, and rehire shelvers and clerks. Libraries are a priority to neighborhood residents. It's unfair to ask branch employees to work 6 days a week, when no other city emplyees are being asked to do that. Administrative cuts could be made across city departments, while keeping front line emplyees on the job to serve the public!

I am a regular library user and go once a week for books or DVDs.

How much the city has to spend is determined by the administration. You can take from one area to give to another but there isn't much you can do to make the overall increase.

How the available is spent is up to the employees and the city. I would support whatever the employees suggested - they probably know best. I can certainly understand why, if the must accept the reduction from 64 hours to 40 hours, they would prefer 5 full days on with 2 full days off. Which of the rest of us would like 2 half-days and only 1 full day off?

Set the schedule and tell us users what it will be. We can always drop off returns in the drop-box, and renew on-line.

I just saw Elizabeth’s piece on the reduction in library hours and have the same observation I always take away from these roundtable discussions with persons on various sides of the presenting issue. It is this: show me the money!!! Not one of these participants backed up their claims with documented figures or citations. What the audience needs is proof that would help us identify who is being real and who is just singing the same tune. For example, I am in the 45th ward and Alderman Arena claimed that “his constituents” are against the proposed closures. I was never once called on this matter (as opposed to tens of times when he was running for office) and there were no surveys sent to me or to my neighbors. I think his “constituents” may have been selectively cited or been the more vocal - but not necessarily the more representative - within the Ward. Bottom line, he had absolutely no percentages or demographics to cite. The union representative bemoaned the loss of union workers’ hours but made no correlation between the need for those hours and the current state of library utilization. I just googled “library usage” and got dozens of links that point to a definite decline since the ‘90s. The only contradiction to this is the increased use during recessions, at just the times when municipalities are experiencing decreases in revenues. There is a great body of work on this subject – an issue for the nation as a whole -- which could have easily been summarized in key points made by Elizabeth in her opener or by the panelists in support of their claims. Chicago is not alone in this dilemma and so many interesting points could have been made and the whole vibe been a lot more SMART. WTTW, please raise the bar on these panel discussions by demanding more, and professional, preparation on the part of your panelists!

I cannot believe that we have come to a place where we are willing to sacrifice the education and well being of our children by closing libraries. Certainly there are other agencies that can bear the brunt of what is happening in our city and cut back on their hours instead. Less money should be provided for senseless and unnecessary organizations. We have enough wrong with the youth of today and it is sad to think that children and adults who desire a better life and are trying to get an education or improve their minds have to be denied the privilege.

Seniors, children and adults in general utilize the public library on a daily basis. I am proud to have library cards at several libraries in the Illinois. What a sad state of affirs this is for those of us who want to make life better for ourselves and others.

Those of us with grandchildren also utilize the library regularly during the day.
There is so much to learn there.

Mayor Emanuel, please stop this cultural decline. Let's not make reading a lost art. The music industry had destroyed the English language. Please do not add to it. This truly saddens me.

If we removed 40 alderman the city would save $100,000,000 then the Labraries would be open back to the 64 hours a week that was before Rahm. 50-40=100million. Ten yes Rahms is the same as 50 yes Rahms.

Our politicians are playing politics as usual with libraries, tax payers, employess and children being the losers. If you can give money to corporations to stay in Chicago and claim bringing new jobs when you're only giving tax breaks to big companies that don't need it or deserve it, you can surely fund your only free cultural and educational center. Why continue building libraries if you don't have money to fund employees to run it. It is ridiculous to ask the people of Chicago to volunteer to shelve books and other works just because you are not willing to compromise.

There are many ways to keep libraries open 7 days a week and maintain current or even lower the costs associated with running it. You can even increase revenue by charging higher delinquency fees. If you can't return something in 2 weeks then there is an issue.

I would even suggest charging $0.50 per DVD rental. You get it for a week. Red Box charges $1.20 per day.

The main thing is to have a strong volunteer staff. You have boy scouts and girl scouts trying to earn badges, you've got high school students on work study programs, etc.... You can keep peoples hours under 30 per week so you don't have to pay them benefits or the 4 letter Pension word. There should never be any overtime paid out which I know there is. The management system is broken and that has a lot to do with the union.

I love the library system and want it open 7 days a week. Manage the operations and it can be done. The problem usually comes down to miss-management. Fix what is broke. Don't suspend service.

I guess the mayor thinks that learning only occurs in schools and is only for kids. Libraries can be as important for learning as a school. What about people who are no longer in school but still want to learn various things? If the mayor truly belives that learning is important then he shouldn't be closing libraries or reducing their hours. If kids can benefit from longer hours learning then shortening library hours or resources makes absolutely no sense for kids or for adults.

Libraries certainly provide a lot of services that kids utilize, including providing a safe place to stay at times. Libraries however serve the entire community as well. The proposal to close libraries in the mornings because kids are in school was short sighted. The idea to close libraries for full days including hours when kids would use them goes beyond short sighted into just plain stupid. Aside from the fact that libraries can provide internet access for those who don't have it they also provide access to things that are not on the internet at all (try finding a reading copy of Percy Mackayes "Hamlet King of Denmark" on the net if you are a theater student or just someone interested in oddities of theater history - a tetrology of plays based on Hamlet's childhood for those who are curious).

Keep the libraries open and stop thinking of them as just places for kids. Trix cereal may be just for kids, libraries however are for everyone and need to be open.

Think of all the people who depend on the library for the internet, newspapers etc in order to seek employment!! If they have to close one day, why not Sunday???

The city is in financial difficulty and a shared sacrifice is unfortunate but necessary. My priority is for the city to be financially stable, which will encourage businesses to come to Chicago and provide jobs. After considering alternatives, the city found that shorter hours on Mondays and Wednesdays, while keeping the libraries open after school, was the most reasonable alternative to gain some financial savings. But the union will not cooperate so, instead, the libraries are now closed on Mondays.

there is no money for libraries because the mayor has to spend it all on political cronies and nonsense contract; after all, he needs to get elected again. he doesn't want to pay for services. there is no kick back involved. can you imagine he is blaming the unions for the library fiasco? well, I guess those librarians are pretty tough when it comes to negotiations. jjt

I was extremely disappointed when I heard that the branch (neighborhood) libraries are closed on Mondays. Most importantly, I am disappointed that Mayor Emanuel, members of the city council, and the unions that represent the libraries; are blaming one another for this fiasco. Closing the libraries on Mondays are not going to solve anything.

First and foremost, the neighborhood libraries are normally busy on Mondays; depending on which ones that you go to. Besides, not everyone has a computer at home; let alone, have access to the internet. Not everyone is willing to travel far to the Regional Libraries (Sulzer and Woodson) and to Harold Washington (Downtown) on Mondays. Having volunteers to shelves books within the library is totally out of the question; unless you're planning on going to school to work toward's your Master's Degree in Library Science and Information. Not every librarian (branch manager) and other library workers are going to take the time to train volunteers to shelve books (especially, non-fiction books).

Speaking on the subject of Mondays at the neighborhood libraries. When teachers assign homework to their students, they normally stop in the library to get a jump start on their assigned homework before going home. Some branches have Teachers in the Library to assist children with their homework.

Even if the mayor and the unions resolve the fiasco that is happening with the libraries, it is not going to bring back the 176 library employees that the mayor let go of at the end of 2011.

They are a credit to the system. They are the best. I am so sorry to see those hard working people get screwed like this. We need open libraries. In the dead of winter, when it's dark early, get the children a place to study and learn that's safe, the homeless a place that's warm and the staff the hours they need to earn a living. This is ludicrous. Come on Obama this is your city and you can't even keep the libraries open. Rahm is Obama's buddy, come on Republicans jump on Obama for this.

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