The Monroe County Public Library Board of Trustees is proposing several cost-cutting measures following property tax revenue loss from Indiana Senate Bill 1. The cuts could include shorter weekday hours at the downtown branch and the reduction of five full-time positions.
Under the proposal, the downtown branch would close on weekdays at 7 p.m. rather than 9 p.m.
Communications and Marketing Director Tori Lawhorn said the shortened hours would allow the library to reduce operating costs and mirror the weekday operating hours of the Southwest and Ellettsville branches. She said she believes the board will pass the measure.
“Reducing hours and reducing resources within those hours is not something that is necessarily desired, but we are having to make a choice because of the passage of Senate Bill 1,” Lawhorn said. “I believe that we have approached this in a very efficient and responsible way. We've done our data, we've done our due diligence.”
According to Lawhorn, the hours between 7 and 9 p.m. account for only 10 percent of daily visitors, 3 percent of study room traffic and 10 percent of meeting room use.
“The data really showed us that the most sustainable and responsible way would be to close the downtown library after seven when it is already being underutilized,” Lawhorn said. “We found that it was the most responsible and sustainable way for us to reduce our operating costs.”
The proposal was introduced at the June MCPL meeting, discussed again in July and will be voted on in August. If passed, Lawhorn said it could go into effect this fall.
At the MCPL Board of Trustees July meeting, Director Grier Carson said the impact of SB 1 was going to be $358,000 less in property tax revenue for 2026 with the reduction for the next two years getting incrementally larger by about $20,000.
Lawhorn said the Monroe County Public Library budget has been reduced by $375,000 for 2026.
To close the funding gap, the trustees identified multiple areas for potential saving, including changing staffing, employee benefits, collection budget or operating hours.
“Our guiding principle has been whatever strategy we adopt, we want to minimize the impact on the public first and foremost, and we want to minimize the impact on staff however we can,” Carson said.
Lawhorn said after considering the impact of each option, reducing hours and employees was the most ethically responsible decision.
Assistant Director of Public Services Josh Wolf said at the July meeting that after-hours programming and off-site services, including the Bookmobile, IU events and community outreach programs, would not be affected by the reduced hours.
Lawhorn said while staff reductions will happen, no single department or location has been targeted, and the goal is to spread the reduction evenly through normal staff turnover
“Being able to shift the downtown library hours on top of reducing our staff by five full-time equivalents will help us — and help the existing staff — continue to serve our patrons more easily,” she said.
Public feedback to the changes can be given in-person with comment cards available at all library branches or through an online feedback form.
“We're (going to) continue to serve our community the best way we know how,” Lawhorn said. “We strongly hope that no Monroe County resident will see a reduction in customer service from us.”
