Operating on the same budget it did last year, the Trail and District Public Library will be doubling its hours of operation in late August – opening over 60 hours per week.

With direction from new library director Belinda Wilkinson, the Trail facility has also hired a part-timer to join its team of three full-time employees, and plans to hire a staffer to deliver part-time children's programming that will be brought back in September.

“Our experienced staff, with help from a director, can now make more efficient use of their time and respond to the needs of our patrons,” said Wilkinson, who became Trail's library director in May. “We have a strong team, right from the staff up to the board.”

There has been a significant turnaround at the Trail facility, where library employees Kelly Zaytsoff, Ramona Gutenberg and Carol Mauriello have over 60 years of combined experience.

The library had its hours chopped in half and 10 employees were laid off last year in an attempt to balance a budget that was cut when Greater Trail communities could not all agree on funding the regional service.

Trail and Warfield now cover the $382,000 it costs to operate the facility – down from its original $430,000.

Funding was only one struggle for the library, which operated without a director for three months until a management consultant was hired to hold the reins until a qualified candidate could be found.

“We knew that we had to extend our hours but we were trying to involve the community as much in the decision-making,” said Wilkinson, whose first task was to open the library again on Mondays – stretching the hours from to 33 from 26.5 in May.

The move apparently satisfied those with library memberships – there was 46 per cent more books and other materials signed out this month, an additional 72 new library members joined and the library received 40 per cent more visits.

A survey done in June noted that nearly 70 per cent of the 128 people who participated said they were dissatisfied with the library hours, and more than 50 per cent wanted the library to be open Monday through Saturday.

Respondents suggested that consistent hours throughout the week, nights and weekends would benefit their lifestyles.

While Wilkinson knows it will be a “juggle,” reintroducing programs and library hours with only 3 1/2 employees and a budget that hasn’t budged, she is pouring her energy into revamping the facility.

“I’d love to totally renovate but we’re not there,” she said of the library that has been tucked inside the Trail Memorial Centre for 55 years.

Library board chair Barbara Gibson is incredibly impressed with Wilkinson’s dedication, adding that staff is required to work with at least one other person and Wilkinson has made herself available for night shifts to ensure the library can again extend its hours and satisfy its membership.

“She’s incredibly professional and brings a wide range of experience and I think that helps her perspective,” said Gibson. “Having her as a director makes a huge difference. She is very, very careful about use of time and everything else.”

Along with a spring-cleaning, the library will be reorganized to allow space for upcoming children’s literacy programs for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

The library is setting up a second literacy workstation, where children can interact with educational software applications.

Those looking to hook up to the city’s wireless connection should be pleased to hear that the library will also acquire seating and table-tops.

The new hours are still being mapped out but the facility will soon be open every day of the week except Sundays.

For more information, visit www.traillibrary.com or call the facility at 364-1731.