Town should invest in local literacy

Last month, the Chapel Hill Public Library reopened at Pritchard Park in a space more than double its original size, well worth the $16.2 million investment.

But the library’s weekly hours have been reduced by more than 20 percent, from 68 to 54 — a significant loss for Chapel Hill residents.

The library’s Board of Trustees cited a lack of funding to operate the larger building and pay for additional full-time staff needed to keep it open.

As Chapel Hill Town Council members finalize the town’s 2013-14 budget over the next two weeks, they should support a proposed 2-cent tax increase, which would fund some of the library’s losses.

Any price is a small one to pay when funding the busiest public library in North Carolina by circulation per capita.

More than 1,000 people visit the library every day, and library officials are expecting at least a 20-percent increase in daily visits now that the building is open.

Weekends are often the most convenient times for working families, especially with children, to make library visits — but the hours on Saturday and Sunday were hardest hit during the cut.

Many poor households do not have regular access to books, technology or wireless internet without the library’s resources.

Through its programs and events, the library also supports efforts to improve literacy in the area.

In Orange County, 15 percent of the adult population has trouble reading at a high school level, making tasks like filling out a job application difficult.

Outside of the reading realm, the library holds free classes that teach basic digital skills and help people build resumes.

The library provides a diverse set of assets to the community — and the town needs to shoulder some of its financial woes.

Although other spending initiatives, such as the Rogers Road landfill closure, are important, the new public library — which the town has already invested a lot of money in — shouldn’t be lost in the shuffle.

The small tax increase would not fully restore the original 68-hour weekly schedule.

But Town Council members should affirm their commitment to the library by also including a provision in the budget to restore the lost hours over the next two or three years.

Even during tough economic times, the town of Chapel Hill needs to make funding its public library a priority, not an afterthought.