SANTA BARBARA – The Eastside Library will now open on Monday afternoons after more than a year and a half of it being closed due to budget cuts.
Newest City Councilmember Cathy Murillo fulfills a campaign promise in her second month in office.
"When I was a child, I spent many hours, many afternoons in the public library," said Murillo.
"I was having a conversation with Councilmember Bendy White and he said let's see if there's a little bit of money to open the Eastside Library on Monday afternoons and it was only $6,800. Not a whole lot of money for the benefit."
The money will come from the city's general fund which saw a small boost in the bed and sales tax.
The library has been closed on Monday's since July 2010. The city council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the extra funds for the branch budget. The $6,800 will allow the doors to open on Monday's from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. until the end of the fiscal year.
"Libraries offer so much to the community besides books that it's wonderful to be able to be available for the community," said Marivel Zambrano-Esparza, Eastside Library.
The Eastside Library housed the largest collection of Spanish books for adults and bilingual books for children in the Santa Barbara Public Library System.
The new library hours start on March 5.
