The Youngstown Free Library will be CLOSED on Tuesday, January 18th due to the snowstorm. Stay safe and warm, everyone, and we'll see you on Wednesday!
I want and need to thank our community for their incredible
generosity in our fall fundraising drive.
Your humbling generosity means that, after a couple of very
difficult years in which we’ve needed to run significantly "in
the red," we have been able to present a break-even budget.
Considering where we were several months ago, a break-even
budget feels revolutionary, and nothing short of miraculous.
Every sensible budget is, of course, a fine balance between
income and expenditures. While generosity and hard work have
improved your library’s income, the library’s Board of
Trustees have had to make some very difficult decisions in the
area of expenditure.
With no "fat" left to be trimmed in our budget, you will
notice a change in regards to our opening hours. Here are the
library’s new hours, effective as of January 3:
• Monday: 2-8:30
• Tuesday: 9:30-8:30
• Wednesday: 2-8:30
• Thursday: 2-6
• Friday: 10-2
• Saturday: 10-2
Our hours have dropped by four hours a week, with Thursdays
being most affected. We – I – wish it was not necessary. But
the goal of preserving the seventy-five year old legacy of
Youngstown’s Library – and extending it far into the future –
makes it a necessity.
These new hours will continue all year, which means that we
will finally have the summer Saturdays that the public has
asked for for so long! And the new hours provide three
evenings, three mornings, and six afternoons of service to
provide library availability to everyone regardless of their
busy schedules.
Our hope is that the changes in hours will cause a minimum of
distress and inconvenience for you, our Friends and patrons.
If you’ve any comments or questions about the library’s new
hours, please feel free to contact me at yfltrustees@gmail.com
Kindest regards,
Sean Scarisbrick
President, Board of Trustees for the Youngstown Free Library
Here are some highlights from our current Safety Plan,
which was approved by the Library Board of Trustees on
November 22, 2021. As always, our top priority is the safety
of staff members and patrons.
• All staff members and volunteers are screened daily to
ensure that everyone is feeling well.
• All staff members, volunteers, and patrons are wearing
appropriate PPE for each situation.
• We are cleaning all public areas on a regular basis.
• We are cleaning and disinfecting all work areas at the end
of every shift.
Please feel free to review our full Safety Plan.
Youngstown Free Library Safety Plan
Please contact the
Director if you have any questions or
concerns.
The mission of the Youngstown Free Library is to be a community center which inspires learning and provides access to a vast range of information and resources for patrons of all ages.
The Youngstown Free Library Board of Trustees meetings are held on the last Monday of the month, with the following exceptions: in May, the Board meets on the 3rd Monday of the month, and the Board has no meetings in August or December. The public is always welcome to attend.