Free Library of Philadelphia resumes Saturday hours at seven more branches
By the end of October, there will be seven additional Free Library of Philadelphia branches that will be open on Saturdays. The Cecil B. Moore Library will start extending hours this weekend, and the Chestnut Hill will do the same Oct. 18. Frankford, Lawncrest and Roxborough all resumed Saturday hours on Sept. 20, and Bustleton and Haddington restored them last weekend. They will be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays. At the end of the month, a total of 39 libraries will be open six days a week, marking a major turnaround after a long period of closures. In 2018, Saturday hours were cut at half of the 54 branches in the city because of issues with staffing and funding. In March 2020, in-person operations stopped completely, and while limited weekday hours resumed later that year, branches remained closed on weekends until 2023. Since then, Saturday hours have resumed in waves. "Libraries are vital community hubs,” Kelly Richards, president and director of the Free Library of Philadelphia, said in a statement. “By expanding our hours, we’re ensuring that more people can access the information, technology, and services they need, when they need them.” The Free Library plans to have all 54 locations open six days per week by the end of the year. A spokesperson for the system said Mayor Cherelle Parker's 2025 budget included enough funding to pay for the additional staffing, and hiring for those positions is ongoing. The Free Library said the Saturday expansion is part of an ongoing commitment to provide more flexibility in its services for students, families and job seekers. Over the summer, leaders held a series of town halls and asked the public to respond to a survey asking how to improve its service for a strategic plan that's expected to be released in February.
