I wrote the governor a couple weeks ago. Of course, Saturday closures - to affect the public the most so we complain. I assume Saturday is the busiest day of the week too! Two weeks warning is not public minded! 



Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 1, 2016, at 1:38 PM, Ray Bonis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> That's really too bad.  Saturday service is a must.  I plan to write the
> Gov. about this lack of support for the LVA. They need to raise the
> cigarette tax to pay for services like this and many other things in
> Virginia.  We have the second lowest cigarette tax rate in the nation.
> 
> - Ray
> 
> On Tue, Nov 1, 2016 at 1:09 PM, Deal, John (LVA) <[log in to unmask]
>> wrote:
> 
>> The reading rooms of the Library of Virginia will be closed on Saturdays
>> and Mondays starting November 14, 2016. The move is a result of the drop in
>> recent revenue projections, which led to Governor McAuliffe reducing the
>> operating budgets for executive agencies by 5 percent for the current
>> fiscal year. The Library had no option but to turn to staff cuts to absorb
>> the 5 percent operating budget reduction. With the loss of 18 employees,
>> the Library is unable to keep the reading rooms open six days a week.
>> Effective November 14, 2016, the reading rooms will be open Tuesday through
>> Friday from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM.
>> 
>> "The decision to close the reading rooms was made reluctantly but
>> providing effective service on Saturdays and Mondays for patrons without
>> adequate human resources was no longer possible. Since the Governor's
>> announcement of the staff reductions at the Library of Virginia I and other
>> members of the Library Board have been contacted by members of the general
>> public who are very upset about these staff reductions," said R. Chambliss
>> Light, Jr., chairman of the Library Board.
>> 
>> Librarian of Virginia Sandra G. Treadway said, "Closing on Saturdays and
>> Mondays is necessary because of the loss of 12 full time and 6 part time
>> employees. Suspending our Saturday hours and closing our reading rooms on
>> Mondays is heartbreaking for us, but is necessary. It will make it
>> difficult for citizens who do research in the Library's unique holdings;
>> however, we will continue to offer our constituents alternative avenues to
>> information. When the Library is not open, citizens can still access
>> numerous reference and research resources through the Library's main
>> website (www.lva.virginia.gov) and also via Virginia Memory (
>> www.lva.virginiamemory.com)<http://www.lva.virginiamemory.com)>."
>> 
>> Other service areas will also be affected. It will take longer, for
>> example, to fill orders for digital images of material in the collections.
>> Training for state and local records officers will be offered less
>> frequently, and response times for records management-related questions may
>> be extended. Moreover, it will take longer to provide access to new
>> collections, and the Library's ability to offer programming will be
>> diminished.
>> 
>> The agency will remain open from Monday through Friday. Full-time public
>> service staff will continue to respond to mail, email, and telephone
>> requests and will pull materials to fulfill research, photocopying, and
>> digitization requests. This work will primarily be done on Mondays, since
>> there is not sufficient staff coverage to complete this work when the
>> reading rooms are open to the public.
>> 
>> If you would like more information about the Library, please visit our
>> website, www.lva.virginia.gov.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ______________________________________
>> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
>> http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> 
> Ray Bonis
> Senior Research Associate
> Special Collections and Archives
> James Branch Cabell Library
> VCU Libraries
> 901 Park Ave. VCU Box 842033
> Richmond, VA 23284-2033
> 
> ______________________________________
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
> http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html

______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html