Luckily, during this period, fines will not accrue and items will not come due. The crazy part is that even the functions that don’t require staff will be inaccessible for the week. This includes the spl.org website and book drops at branches — keep your books until they re-open after the 7th. Also, there will be no library-hosted meetings.
This last item impacts the September North Beacon Hill Council meeting, which will have to be moved and/or rescheduled. (We’ve not yet seen official notice of when or where, and the NBHC website does not say. The usual alternate location is the Beacon Hill Lutheran church at 18th and Forest. The official time, location, and agenda will be posted as soon as it’s available.)
I feel bad for the staff taking an unpaid week of leave.
It’s not crazy–SPL deliberately cut all services. This saves the maximum amount of money. Dramatically reduced energy & water bills, reduced IT costs, etc. This is much better than cutting branch hours back to the point where staff are hurting AND the libraries are inaccessible to 75% of the public.
It’s also the splashiest (and hopefully most effective) way to show the public what our city looks like without libraries. Don’t fund ’em, they won’t be around. All those people who hang out enjoying free wireless will have to find somewhere else to check email. People using library computers for job search–out of luck. Trying to host a meeting–look elsewhere.