LORAIN — Three Lorain Public Library branches are opening an additional day a week. Avon, Domonkas in Sheffield Lake and South Branch in Lorain are restoring hours that were cut due to financial problems. Library board members voted 7-0 yesterday for the changes, said Joanne Eldridge, director of the Lorain Public Library System. “People need their libraries to be open,” she said. “And it is our mission to keep them open as much as we possibly can afford to.” The new hours will take effect May 3. The Avon branch will no longer be closed on Wednesdays and will now be open from 2 to 8:30 p.m. that day. The Domonkas and South Lorain branches will no longer be closed on Fridays and will have Friday hours from 2 to 6 p.m. Eldridge said the board came to an agreement with Service Employees International Union 1199 to freeze salaries, which means 32 positions will not have to be eliminated as previously planned. Instead, 10 positions were eliminated with three employees volunteering to be laid-off and seven opting for early retirement. “I know the public weren’t happy with the tough choices we had to make,” Eldridge said. “But our budget was reduced by 30 percent because of the lack of state funding.” Due to 10 jobs being eliminated, the library was able to reassign hours and shift employees around with no additional operating costs, she said. The public library system is currently working in Columbia Station to possibly restore hours there as well, Eldridge said.
