p1The Arbor City Library will make later Saturday hours permanent after a six-month pilot, extending service until 8 p.m. beginning next month.

p2The library board approved the schedule after reviewing pilot attendance, visitor feedback, and the cost of keeping the building open for three additional hours.

p3Library records show Saturday entries rose 18% during the pilot compared with the same six-month period last year. The entry counts show when people arrived, but not why attendance changed.

p4A voluntary survey offered inside the library on Saturdays received 642 responses. Seventy-two percent of respondents wanted the later hours to continue, 14% preferred the earlier closing time, and the rest expressed no preference.

p5Library director Elena Park said the attendance records and survey informed the recommendation. She said the data did not prove that longer hours alone caused the increase in visits.

p6The city council approved funding for two additional weekend staff shifts. The library estimates that the permanent schedule will add $46,000 in annual staffing and utility costs.

p7Park said later hours could make the library easier to use for residents who work during the day, while noting that the pilot did not measure visitors' work schedules.

p8The library said a winter reading festival, three community workshops, and seasonal changes may also have affected attendance. Because the survey reached only Saturday visitors, it did not capture the views of non-visitors or other residents.

p9Council member David Lin supported the funding but asked the library to publish quarterly attendance and cost figures. He said the schedule should be reconsidered if visits return to their earlier level.

p10The library will review attendance, staffing costs, and visitor feedback after one year. Officials said the pilot supports that visits rose while later hours were offered and that many surveyed visitors favored the schedule, but it does not establish that the schedule itself caused the increase.