Nassau County library supporters are urging commissioners to restore funding for Saturday hours and a branch set to close, ahead of a final budget vote Monday.
The Fernandina Beach Branch Library will stop opening on Saturdays starting Thursday. The Bryceville Branch Library will shut down entirely Oct. 29. Both changes stem from a tentative county budget that includes a reduced millage rate of 6.5178, the sixth straight annual reduction, as first reported by the Fernandina Observer.
Weekend patrons lose their only option
The Fernandina Beach branch is the only Nassau County library open on Saturdays. Mary Louise Hester, president of Friends of the Fernandina Beach Library, said the Saturday closure will hit working families hardest.
"This past Saturday, there were three or four people outside waiting for the library to open ... No one was aware that it would be closing (on Saturdays) soon," Hester told the Fernandina Observer. She said patrons told her they work during the week and depend on Saturday access. Many live off the island.
Bryceville closes despite surging use
Angie Hall, president of Bryceville Friends of the Library, said visits to the Bryceville branch jumped 431% and lending rose 90% over the past three years. Hall and Hester presented those figures to commissioners at a Sept. 14 meeting.
Hall described the branch, housed inside the Bryceville Community Center, as a gathering place that hosts book clubs, holiday parties and summer reading programs. It also lends portable Wi-Fi hotspots to families without internet service.
The county's library review considered facility usage, staffing, operating costs, service hours and geographic coverage, News4JAX reported. Nassau County plans to install an outdoor locker at the Bryceville site so patrons can pick up requested materials after the branch closes. The book drop will remain available.
The Yulee branch is also affected and will be reduced to three days a week, according to Nassau NewsLine.
Amendment 3 could deepen funding cuts
Commissioners have not publicly responded to the advocates' Sept. 14 testimony.
Amendment 3 on the November ballot could further reduce the property tax revenue Nassau County relies on. The Fernandina Beach branch will host a free, nonpartisan information session about Amendment 3 at 2 p.m. Oct. 6. Nassau County Commissioner Alyson McCullough will speak and take questions. Reservations are available through Friends of the Library.
Upcoming community dates
- Sept. 28 — Nassau County Commission final budget hearing
- Oct. 1 — Fernandina Beach branch Saturday hours end
- 2 p.m. Oct. 6 — Amendment 3 information session, Fernandina Beach Branch Library
- Oct. 29 — Bryceville Branch Library closes
- Nov. 4-7 — Friends of the Library book sale, Fernandina Beach branch
.jpg)