Pahala Public and School Library (Big Island) will expand its public service hours effective Monday, September 30, the first substantial increase in nearly four years due to previous budget cuts.
The Library, located at 96-3150 Pikake Street on the campus of Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary Schools, will be moving from a Monday, Thursday, and Friday schedule of 15 hours per week to a Monday through Friday schedule of 34 hours per week.
"We would like to say mahalo nui loa to Governor Abercrombie for easing the hiring restrictions which allowed us to recruit and fill vacancies at our libraries," said State Librarian Richard Burns. "We would also like to thank our legislators, especially Senator Gilbert Kahele (D-1st) of Hilo, the Board of Education, and the unions for their support to help make these much needed additional hours possible."
"We are extremely grateful to the staff at this library as well as nearby public libraries and congratulate them for making significant personal sacrifices in order to provide increased public service for all HSPLS patrons," Burns said.
"We offer free computer training classes, thanks to the federal Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grant which provided the new public access computers, laptop computers, ADA-accessible workstation, and free wireless Internet access in our Library," said Debbie Wong Yuen, Pahala Public & School Library Branch Manager.
The new public service schedule will add Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and increase by 19 hours to accommodate the needs of the community, Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary Schools:
* Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
* Tuesday: noon to 3 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
* Friday: noon to 5 p.m.
* Saturday and Sunday: Closed
For information about the Library's computer training classes, programs and services, please call (808) 928-2015.