Monroeville Public Library board asks council to reinstate 10 part-time employees

The Monroeville Public Library’s board of directors has asked council to reinstate 10 part-time employees to help the full-time employees keep up with a new, covid-19 workload.

Board president Dave English and former board president Debbie Iszauk addressed council during its Oct. 13 meeting. They said the new guidelines the employees must follow are stretching them thin.

“They’re doing the work of a full complement of staff, which is 32,” Iszauk said in an interview with the Tribune-Review. “So they’re working on a one-to-three ratio right now just to be able to keep the library open around 34 hours a week.”

She said that under the guidelines set forth by the Allegheny County Library Association and state Department of Health, the library should be operative at a minimum of 45 hours. Before the pandemic, the library was open around 60 hours a week.

Iszauk said the library is in jeopardy of losing out on Regional Asset District money if staff cannot operate at least 45 hours a week.

Council closed the library to the public on March 15, followed by all 20 part-time staff being laid off March 27. In May, 10 full-time employees were furloughed.

Barb English, the library’s circulation supervisor, said one full-time staffer remained at the library when the full-time staff were furloughed in May. On June 15, two others joined him, she said, to operate the library’s contactless pickup services. The other eight full-time employees were reinstated July 13.

The library did not reopen to the public until July 27, when it began offering browsing and computer use by appointment.

Currently, the library’s hours are 10 to 11 a.m. Monday for at-risk patrons. It then opens from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for all others. On Tuesday, the hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday. All library hours are by appointment only.

Deputy Mayor Greg Erosenko said council will need to take a hard look at the budget, which is faced with a $3.1 million deficit.

“Last thing I want to do is bring people on and lay them off again,” he said. “I hear what you’re saying, but folks we’re going to have to really think about this and please tune in to the budget process because I think you’re going to appreciate the dilemma we’re facing.”

He said reinstating 10 part-time employees might be “pushing the envelope” and that decisions moving forward are going to be influenced by how much can be squeezed from the spending plan.

Councilwoman Linda Gaydos recommended the library director, Nicole Henline, and Manager Tim Little sit down for a meeting to discuss possibilities.