Sault Ste. Marie Public Library will cut back on holiday openings in 2018, after too many librarians refused to work Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day and Family Day.
The Centennial Branch opened on those holidays for the first time this year.
Family Day and Easter were the two most popular days, with 406 and 394 patrons showing up, respectively.
The door count on Canada Day was 193.
On Victoria Day, it was 192.
"A significant barrier to holiday openings is staffing," Matthew MacDonald, acting chief executive officer and director of libraries, told a library board meeting last night.
"According to the Employment Standards Act, employees must agree in writing to work the holidays. Most full-time staff has indicated that they would not agree to work, as have many part-time staff," MacDonald said.
Last year, all full-time reference librarians declined to work on holidays.
This year the children's staff have joined their reference department colleagues.
The four holiday openings in 2017 cost a total of $3,474 in payroll.
Board members voted to open the library only on Family Day in 2018, with $1,595 in salaries set aside for the four-hour opening.
Closing on Easter Monday and Victoria Day will save $1,984 in salaries.
Centennial Library is expected to open on Remembrance Day, 2018, board members were told.
Minimum wage
Board members were also advised last night that the library will need to review its entry-level library page job program to adjust for increases in the minimum wage.
Over the past three years, Sault Ste, Marie Public Library has used just under 10,000 page hours a year.
Starting Jan. 1, 2018 the minimum wage will rise from $11.60 an hour to $14 an hour for workers over age 18, and from $10.90 to $13.15 hourly for employees under 18.
In 2019, minimum wage increases again to $15 for employees over 18 and to $14.10 for employees under 18.
"The library will either have to increase the amount spent on salaries, reduce the amount of page hours or some combination of both," MacDonald said.
No more cheap USB sticks after next week
The price of a USB flash drive at Sault Ste. Marie Public Library, currently an amazingly low $3, will rise to $8 in 2018.
The library erred in originally pricing the sticks far lower than they were actually worth, the board was told.
As a new service, the board will also offer projector rentals for $10 a day.