After more than three years of reduced hours, the Lehighton Area Memorial Library will once again open its doors on Mondays.

Beginning this coming Monday, the library will begin welcoming patrons on Mondays from 1-4 p.m. when it begins summer hours, and will remain open on Monday afternoons during June, July and August.

The change in hours culminates nearly a year of fundraising and brainstorming with the community, including the library’s Money for Mondays campaign.

“When people saw that we were trying to raise the money to be open on Mondays, there was a lot of encouragement and people wanted us to be able to do it,” said library director Melissa Hawk. “It was successful in that we got a lot of input.”

With the library expecting an increase in patrons during warmer weather, summer seemed to be a good time to try out Monday afternoon hours.

“Summer has benefits. Kids have more time to get here. People are more likely to come out to programs if it’s nice out,” said Hawk.

“At this point, the plans are to be open on Mondays for the summer,” she added. “It’s a trial run. We’re going to evaluate things and see where it goes.”

The library will be staffed most Mondays by Hawk, who has been working on Mondays since she was hired full-time last year, and two volunteers. For now the volunteer positions will be filled by board members, who have already been trained in the library’s procedures and serve as substitute staff members when necessary.

Lehighton Area Memorial Library was last opened on Mondays in early 2015. Due to budget constraints, the library had to make some tough decisions — and that meant closing on Mondays, reducing its schedule by one hour daily on the other remaining days and eliminating its full-time library director position.

“By closing Mondays, and also by going to a part-time library director, they saved funds. During those years, they took a look at finances and got into a better place financially,” said Hawk. “They also received some unexpected bequests, which helped put them on better financial footing, and allowed the board to build up the investment fund.”

When the library board took a look at its finances last year, members realized it might be time to bring back a full-time, masters-level library director. Hawk joined the staff in that capacity in October 2017.

“One of the things we could do, since I was full-time, was that we could open up on Mondays.

Since we have a full-time person here, we’re going to trial it with volunteers and see if it works. We’re fortunate that we have volunteers who have committed to the summer,” she said.

Expanded hours aren’t the only change coming to the Lehighton library. Library staff are applying for a Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund Grant in the amount of $200,000 this month for a building expansion, which would allow for a community room, restrooms and a youth services area.

“I really thing that Lehighton deserves a bigger, modern space. Everything that is going on with this community is amazing, and I hope that we will be a part of that growth,” said Hawk. “If the grant doesn’t happen, we will be pursuing other grants and also look to other donors.”

She noted that the library board decided to apply for the grant now because it may not be offered in the future. Like any other grant, funds are not guaranteed for future years.

“In the meantime, until we have more room, we will be continuing to go out into the community. We can take our programs to community groups, and we also are trying to be very creative with the space that we have,” said Hawk. “For the summer, we are going to have our pre-K through elementary programs at the same time, but also using the library when it is closed to the public and utilizing our outdoor spaces.

“We’ve done programs already when the library is closed, and it helps because we can use the whole library. We will be creative, and we will do whatever we have to do to make sure the community is served.”

Registration for the library’s summer learning program, Libraries Rock, is open now. Activities for children ages 2-18 and a new drop-in craft or activity will be offered weekly. Biweekly programs will be held for teens and adults. Programing and a summer reading challenge for all ages will begin June 18 and run through Aug. 18.

The library also launched its teen advisory board last month, and the board’s teens are actively planning activities for the summer.