Part-Time Staff At Urbana Library Say They Bear Brunt Of Budget Cuts

A 5.5% budget cut at the Urbana Free Library has required spending cuts throughout library operations. But part-time employees says they’ve been hit with reductions in work hours that force them to carry too much of the burden.

Urbana Free Library Circulation clerk Elisabeth Paulus says she and other part-time clerks have seen their work schedules capped at about 20 hours a week --- with a corresponding cut in their employer’s coverage of health insurance costs. Paulus told the library board Tuesday night, that the real losers are library patrons.

“In the last year, our hours in Circ (the Circulation Department) have been cut so dramatically, that we cannot do our jobs to the best of our ability, “said Paulus. “And morale is so low in Circ that three part-time clerks with more than 20 years’ experience between them, have resigned in the last year.”

Paulus says that the library has hired new hourly employees who are not eligible for benefits to fill the gap created by the cutback in their hours. But she says those employees lack the experience that she and other part-time employees have built up over the years. Paulus says the changes threaten the library experience for its patrons.

“We are the first face you see when you walk into the library, the first voice you hear when you call”, said Paulus. “We unlock the doors to the building each morning, and announce the all-clear each night. And we’re being forced out of the library. We’re being forced to give poor service.” 

Urbana Free Library director Celeste Choate says the cutback in staff hours was regrettable, but that the impact of the loss of Carle property tax revenue on the library budget made the staff cutbacks unavoidable.

“I wish that I could offer everyone a full time job that wanted it here” Choate told the board, “but the library is not in a financial position to be able to do that.”

Urbana Free Library employees and their supporters have complained about the cutbacks in staff hours at the last four board meetings.

In reply, Choate says that while hours for part-time employees may be down, they have still received raises, and no one has been laid off. She also says that the Internet has changed the needs of library patrons. Choate says those changes mean less demand for clerks behind the check-out counter or the reference desk, but perhaps a greater demand for their participation in outreach projects around town.