New hours for library

By Daniel Wolowiczdanielw@theacorn.com

The Westlake Village City Council announced that the Westlake Village Library will now be open on Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. starting Sun., July 24.

“Thanks to the city, we’re now able to make Sunday hours available,” said Nancy Mahr, public information officer with the County of Los Angeles Public Library District.

The Westlake Village Library is managed by the county-wide district. Mahr said only a few of the 85 libraries overseen by the county offer Sunday hours due to the extra cost.

To make the Sunday hours possible, the city council has budgeted $25,325 per year, Mahr said. The money not only pays for library staff during the extra hours, but also covers added costs associated with keeping the building open.

Westlake Village Mayor Mark Rutherford said the council made the decision to extend library hours to meet the needs of city residents.

“The real debate was not whether or not we were going to offer Sunday hours, but when the hours were going to be,” Rutherford said.

The council chose to start the hours later in the day to better accommodate both residents and library personnel.

“We wanted to keep the same staff that (was) familiar with Westlake,” Rutherford said.

The city will pay library staff the overtime hourly rate set by the county.

“The county has their own rules and procedures with extra hours,” Rutherford said. “We have, in the past, looked at whether or not the city could run the library on its own, but financially, it’s just not cost effective. This is the most cost effective way of doing it.”

Built in 2002, the library houses nearly 50,000 volumes and 4,500 audio-visual materials.