Grand Rapids library shifting to 7-hour days, 3 times a week in new year

GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids Area Library will be open three days a week in 2026, after budget cuts forced a significant reduction in staff time.

Patrons can visit the library 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, starting in the new year. That’s 15 fewer hours than the current library hours Monday through Friday.

The city of Grand Rapids has long funded the majority of the library’s budget. But it said it can’t sustain that level of funding and needed to make cuts amid rising costs. The city is also planning to cut a police officer, a human resources position and an information technology position and is also exploring an additional $450,000 in cuts.

City officials asked Itasca County to increase its funding to help offset the impact of the cuts, but the County Board said no. The city and county budgets aren’t finalized until Truth in Taxation meetings at 6 p.m. Dec. 1 and 6 p.m. Dec. 2, respectively.

Director of Library Services Amy Dettmer said she worked with staff to come up with the new hours.

A recent community survey by the city asked which five days people are most likely to use the library, with most choosing Wednesday through Saturday.

Despite popular demand, they opted not to be open on Saturdays because Arrowhead Library System and city services are only available on weekdays.

"And the other piece of it is, the survey was done when we were staffed at our full staff. We don’t have that luxury anymore,” Dettmer said. “ ... We’re the experts here. We’ve been working with the public for many years. We feel it’s the best fit.”

Dettmer will be the only full-time staff member in the new year, with the rest of the library staff reducing their weekly hours to 20.

It was especially important to be open Mondays, as that’s when the most books are returned and most people need in-person assistance, like help with the printers or passport services.

“It's always like go-time on Monday morning,” Dettmer said, theorizing people are checking off the to-dos they thought of over the weekend.

City Councilor Molly MacGregor is leading a fundraising effort to offset the library cuts for 2027. The goal is to raise $300,000 by September, when the city’s budget discussions begin. In the first week, they raised about $1,000.

“So, we only have $299,000 to go,” MacGregor joked.

She started the effort because she “wanted people to put money where their mouth is.” There were a lot of vocal supporters as the city and county considered the library budget. Donations can be directed to the Grand Rapids Area Community Foundation’s new library fund. There are two other library funds managed by the community foundation, but those are restricted funds, so they can only be spent on specific items.

“This library operations [fund] is unrestricted,” MacGregor explained. “Whatever is donated will go to the city, which will then write a check to the library.”

Anything the community can do to help is appreciated, Dettmer said. There isn’t an increased need for volunteers at this time, but that won’t be clear until they try out the new schedule.

Dettmer is the former assistant library director — a position that’s now been cut — and took over for Director Will Richter amid city/county budget talks after Richter took a new position with the city. She knew what she was getting into when she took the role, but it has been extremely stressful.

“The staff has been amazing, and they are completely supportive,” she said. “I realized that I’ve been doing about five different people’s jobs in my first four months, and I’m just trying to navigate it and figure it out.

“ ... It would be difficult to even continue on if I didn’t have the staff I have.”