SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — A downtown Syracuse library is struggling to get customers back through their doors.
Betts Branch and other Onondaga County Public Libraries reopened their facilities for the community to sit down and read books in mid- April. Earlier in the pandemic, the library was open only for curb-side pick up or required customers to schedule appointments to pick up their books.
Now four months later after reopening, the Betts library is seeing slower traffic than normal for in-person reading and check outs.
“It’s a lot quieter than it was,” said children’s librarian, Pat Pederson. “Our impression is that people are still discovering that we’re open to the public.”
To help bring more people in, Betts Branch last week added extended operating hours last week to accommodate the public’s busy schedules. The library was previously only open during regular business hours, making it more difficult for people to come in after work or school.
“[The children’s] school day will begin about 8 a.m. and go to 3 or 4 o’clock depending on their schedule,” Pederson said.
The Betts Branch library extended its hours of operation 2.5 hours on Mondays and Wednesdays. It will now be open 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Additionally on Saturdays, the library is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Prior to the change, the Betts Branch was closed on the weekend.
With the extended hours, the library hopes to see more faces come in to check out books or sit and read. Betts Branch library is following the CDC recommendations and is now requiring masks to be worn indoors.
