3 Area Libraries to Add Sunday Hours

City library officials have announced extended hours of operation that will open three Valley branches on Sundays for the first time ever.

In all five Valley library branches will be among 16 citywide to add hours to their current schedules.

The five Valley libraries to stay open longer are North Hollywood, Mid-Valley, West Valley, Pacoima and Sunland-Tujunga. The new hours, and in some cases days of operation, will go into effect sometime after Nov. 1, said City Librarian Susan Kent.

Officials say the new longer hours will make it easier for families to visit the library together.

“We’ve been hearing from people all over the city that they would like to have their libraries open longer,” Kent said. “The extended hours mean that there will be more time that families can come together.”

Under the new system, larger regional branch libraries such as Mid-Valley, West Valley and North Hollywood will switch from their current 52-hour, six-day schedule to a 60-hour, seven-day schedule, officials said.

Seven community branch libraries, including Pacoima and Sunland-Tujunga, will switch from a 40-hour, six-day schedule to a 52-hour schedule. The branch libraries will remain open six days per week.

Dagmar Lestrel, children’s librarian at the Pacoima branch, said the increased funding means that her library will be open four evenings a week instead of two.

“Since I started at this branch in 1980, the usage has really increased, especially since we got the computers in,” Lestrel said. “The amount of people has doubled and tripled on some days. The extra hours will help spread it out.”

Funding for the extended services were included in Mayor Richard Riordan’s 1998 budget and approved by the City Council earlier this year.

The 16 libraries given extra funding to increase their hours are some of the busiest in the city, officials said.

Because of unresolved staffing issues, no definite date for the new hours could be given, officials said.