For Michael Sayen, visiting the local library after hours is a great way to get work done, or seek respite from the weather, regardless of what day it is.
“We just had Labor Day, the library is closed all day. But if you have extended hours, you can come in and do the work, or cool down from a hot day or whatever you need to do,” Sayen said the day after Labor Day while working on a novel at the Wyoming, Minnesota branch of the East Central Regional Library (ECRL) in Chisago County. Sayen, who lives in nearby Forest Lake north of Minneapolis, adds that he has found after-hours access useful for filing time-sensitive job applications or court documents.
The Wyoming branch library is home to a new ECRL initiative called “extended access,” which allows users to access a library branch when it is unstaffed. “We hope that it allows more people to use the facility, in particular those who may not be able to get to the library during otherwise limited hours due to work and family schedules,” ECRL executive director Carla Lydon wrote in an email.
ECRL is one of a handful of rural library systems across the United States to offer such a service, increasing library access at a time when libraries are struggling for funding.
Michael Sayen uses a computer at the Wyoming Giese Memorial Library to work on a novel. Sayen is a user of the Extended Access program at the Wyoming Library. (Photo by H. Jiahong Pan/Daily Yonder)
How It Works
Extended access goes by many names depending on location. The Summit County Library in Utah calls it extended access hours. In Nevada County, California, the program is called Open+ Access. At the Independence Public Library in Kansas, it’s called Open Access. And at the Timberland Regional Library, which serves five counties in western Washington state, it’s called Expanded Access.
To access an unstaffed library, a person first needs a library swipe card from the local library, which will unlock the doors. For the ECRL, any library card associated with any of Minnesota’s 12 regional libraries will do.
After getting a library card, users must also sign up for the extended-access program. Some libraries allow people to do so online, while other libraries require them to register in person. Some libraries also require users to participate in an in-person tour, so they can familiarize themselves with its safety features. There also are some restrictions – for example, to have extended access to the Timberland Regional Library, users must be at least 14 years of age. For the Independence Public Library, at least 16 years of age. And, for Nevada County, Summit County, and ECRL in Minnesota, extended access is only available to members who are at least 18 years of age.
However, even after enrolling in open or extended or expanded access, users don’t necessarily have access to the library 24 hours a day. Many libraries require visitors to leave unstaffed locations as early as 8 p.m. each night. At Summit County, unstaffed libraries aren’t accessible on Sundays, even with extended access privileges.
At ECRL, signing up requires one to visit the Wyoming branch when it is staffed. The process takes about 15 minutes, and involves signing a form, sitting through a presentation on what the program is about, as well as reviewing the library’s safety features, including locations of the defibrillator, first aid kit, and emergency exits.
People using extended-access libraries are able to do the same things they could do when staff are present, such as read and borrow books, make copies, and use computers. Some services are not available, such as sending faxes that require cash transactions with library workers.
Ryan Stigile, a pastor who lives in Wyoming, Minnesota, enjoys using extended access because it provides another space for him to get his work done, particularly in the evening. “Just being able to have an extra space to work in a community that does not have a ton of evening options available,” Stigile said while working on his computer at the Wyoming library. “We don’t have any coffee shops, so it’s this or McDonald’s.”
ECRL did face scrutiny over safety, security, and behavioral issues that may play out when people are unattended. But so far, they say they haven’t encountered any problems. Still, to address the security issues that may come up, ECRL staff installed security cameras. Using a library card to unlock doors adds another layer of security. “If we have issues, because you have to sign in and are on camera, we are able to identify the issue and revoke the privilege quickly,” Lydon added.
The program is getting popular at ECRL: 55 users have registered for extended access, and they have used it more than 800 times so far this year. Lydon reported usage has grown 66% since ECRL moved out of the testing phase in April.
Meanwhile, the Timberland Regional Library has 12 branches with extended access, as well as more than 4,100 users who have access to the libraries. From September 2023 to August 2026, more than 63,000 people swiped their library cards when the libraries were unstaffed.
Inadequate Funding Challenges Expansions
For ECRL, renovating the Wyoming library to allow after-hours access cost about $70,000, which included installing security cameras. It costs ECRL about $12,000 annually for the technology needed for extended access to work, which includes the software that allows users to scan their cards to enter.
At this time, the Wyoming library is the only library in the ECRL system that has extended access. ECRL plans to expand the service to other branches as funding allows, but its board hasn’t committed funding to expand the service. In fact, ECRL had to reduce library hours in three counties earlier this year due to funding challenges.
One of the counties affected, Aitkin County, is considering a 2% allocation increase from this year’s levels, but the increase would not restore operating hours to 2025 levels. Aitkin County is also not considering allocating more funds to increase operating hours. ECRL does not plan to cut hours further next year.
Getting extended access established in ECRL branches outside of Chisago County may also require the cooperation of the cities where the libraries are located. In Aitkin and Pine counties, the cities own the buildings where the branches are housed, and the city governments would have to approve the necessary modifications.
Even with libraries available for the public to use while unstaffed, extended access is not affecting jobs at the East Central Regional Library, Lydon explained. “Staffed hours remain as they were prior to implementation, and we expect that to continue,” Lydon wrote.
A person is photographed using Expanded Access at a Timberland Regional Library branch. (Photo by H. Jiahong Pan/Daily Yonder)
Meanwhile, Timberland Regional Library, which received 94% of its funding this year from property tax levies and does not receive federal funding, is facing potential budget cuts, according to Chris Chrzan, Timberland Regional Library’s public information officer and board clerk. “Due to legal limits on annual property tax increases in Washington state, revenues have not kept up with expenditures for many years,” Chrzan said.
On the ballot this fall in the five counties Timberland Regional Library serves, is a measure to increase the tax rate per $1,000 in assessed property value from 22 cents to 35 cents, potentially raising $14 million next year. The library system has already cut $3.69 million from books, staff salaries, and library programs to address a budget deficit, according to the Grays Harbor and Aberdeen-based Our Daily World.
Though expanded access at Timberland Regional Library preserved library access, the system also wants to increase staffed hours for visitors.
“While ‘Expanded Access Hours’ is useful for maintaining access to library facilities and some core services outside of staffed hours, our patrons tell us often how important it is to have regularly staffed hours at their local library,” Chrzan wrote in an email. “Our ability to continue to provide regularly staffed hours across the district in light of ongoing financial challenges is part of the conversations we are having with community members now.”
The post Some Rural Libraries Are Letting Their Users Visit During Unstaffed Hours appeared first on The Daily Yonder.
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