When Essex County Council approved its budget this week, the document included a 12 per cent boost for libraries.
With a budget of just over $6-million last year, the increase adds another $753,000 in funding.
Library Board Chair Joe Bachetti, also the Deputy Mayor of Tecumseh, said the library system will hire more staff, especially at its Harrow branch, which saw cutbacks during the pandemic.
It initiated "open plus hours," where patrons could enter the library when it wasn't staffed.
That program is on pause.
"Just before the holidays, we encountered some technical problems with that system," said Bachetti, adding visitors had other complaints too. "We're finding many of our patrons prefer coming in to talk to our staff."
There were also security concerns.
"When you go in, and there's nobody in the building, you're in there by yourself. That is a risk," admitted Bachetti. "It may work in other places, but we found in our region, in our branches, that it was something that wasn't well received or needed."
Meanwhile, there's a resurgence underway at county libraries, with 7,000 new memberships issued last year.
"As you know, the libraries took a big hit during the pandemic, and we've met or exceeded our pre-pandemic levels now," he added.
The library's budget for 2024 is $6,783,200.
