San Diego's Central Library will open up for five hours on Saturdays beginning Nov. 3, Mayor Jerry Sanders and Councilman Todd Gloria announced today.
It's the first time in three years the facility at 820 E St. will have Saturday hours, which will be from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Also, the Logan Heights, Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernardo and Valencia Park/Malcolm X branches will add Sunday hours, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., beginning Nov. 4, Sanders and Gloria said.
Those four locations join the City Heights/Weingart, La Jolla/Riford, Point Loma/Hervey and Serra Mesa-Kearny Mesa branches as being open on Sundays. That gives Sunday library hours to each City Council district.
“Thanks to our financial reforms like managed competition, IT outsourcing and streamlining nearly every city department, we have been able to begin restoring important city services like libraries,” Sanders said. “Along with additional hours at recreation centers, and more funding for street repairs, our residents are starting to the see the benefits of the progress we've made over the last few years.”
City officials said they are aiming to add more library hours in the future, including having every branch open for a full day on Mondays.
“As we watch the construction continue on the new Central Library, we have not forgotten that branch libraries are relied upon, and that is why restoring these hours was among the top priorities as soon as our budget allowed,” Gloria said.
The $185 million new Central Library is scheduled to open next summer in the East Village near Petco Park.
—City News Service
