Saturday February 20 – Aberdeen Library, 12:30–3:30 pm
Saturday February 27th – Bel Air Library, 12:30–3:30 pm
Saturday March 20th – Fallston Library, 10 am–1 pm
Saturday April 10th – Joppatowne Library, 11 am–2 pm
Saturday, April 24th – Abingdon Library, 12:30–3:30 pm
STARTING PLANTS FROM SEEDS
Thursday, March 18th
Extension Office – 6:30 – 8:30 pm
CONTAINER VEGETABLE GARDENING
April 17th– Extension Office – 10 am – 12 noon
Call 410-638-3255 For more Information
University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, religion, nationalorigin, sexual orientation, age, marital or parental status or disability.
The year 2009 opened on a sad note in Harford County with residents still mourning the death of prominent, longtime school superintendent Jacqueline Haas. Before the year was over, Harford County would lose two other wellknown female leaders – former delegate Joanne Parrott and Harford County Councilwoman Veronica Chenowith.
It was also a year of contradiction. Even as President-Elect Barack Obama slowed his inaugural train ride through Edgewood in January to wave and thank a thousand or so supporters, there were a thousand or so more Harford County residents who fought tooth-and-nail in September to prevent President Obama’s live address to be shown to their children during the school day.
Bel Air High School was demolished and Fallston Library was spared from closure. Art Helton survived another political scandal in Aberdeen while Harford County’s delegation to the Maryland General Assembly played a furious and humiliating game of musical chairs in Annapolis.
One place where the rubber will hit the road on budget cuts for Harford libraries will be the previously announced reduction of hours of operation at all 11 branches. In a July 10th press release, the specifics of those reductions were announced as follows.
Effective August 3rd, Sunday hours will be eliminated at all branches and the daily schedule for most branches (except for Bel Air and Darlington) will be as follows:
Monday & Wednesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Tuesday & Thursday 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday & Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Bel Air and Darlington will have unique schedules and the hours for drive-through windows will vary at the branches that have them, so check out the new hours for your local library below:
ABERDEEN 410-273-5608
21 Franklin Street, Aberdeen 21001
Mon & Wed 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Tue & Thu 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Fri & Sat 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Backing off a proposal to close the Fallston Library branch, Harford Library Director Audra Caplan announced yesterday that budget cuts would instead be felt across the system in the form of reduced hours of operation, cuts in materials and services, and job losses. The change in plans was to be formally approved by the Library Board of Trustees last night along with the FY10 budget, following a public hearing at 6 p.m. at Fallston High School.
Library Director Caplan said the move to keep Fallston open was in response to an “outpouring…from residents from all areas of the county”. She said “the message was clear” that cuts should be absorbed across the system in order to leave the doors open at all 11 branches.
The $1.6 million in cutbacks will be effective July 1. They are expected to include:
By implementing system-wide layoffs, furloughs and salary reductions, slashing the materials budget by nearly 20%, and closing all branches of the Harford County Public Library system on Sundays, the Fallston Branch has been saved and will remain open.
The decision and recommendations of the Library Board of Trustees were announced during a Wednesday afternoon press conference.
“The Board of Trustees has removed the closure of a branch, specifically Fallston, from the budget reduction proposal,” the press release states.
A public hearing on the budget proposal will proceed as planned on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. at Fallston High School.
Here is the full press release:
Library Budget Reductions
The Harford County Public Library held a press conference at 3pm today at the Bel Air Branch to announce the Library Board of Trustees’ recommendations for the FY10 budget reductions and the impact these reductions will have on services throughout the county.
The Harford County Public Library Board of Directors have delayed a vote on the closure of the Fallston Branch until next week.
The decision came just a few hours after County Executive David Craig announced dozens of Harford County employees would be losing their jobs to meet the mandated budget cuts.
The next hearing is tentatively scheduled for next Thursday, June 25 at 6 p.m. at a location not yet determined. After a huge crowd turned out for the first hearing, and only a handful of people got a chance to speak, it is expected the next hearing will be held in a larger venue and afford more opportunity for public input.
More information on the proposed closure and a community petition can be found at www.savefallstonlibrary.com
Facing confusion and concern regarding a cost-cutting proposal to close the Fallston branch of the Harford County Public Library, the Harford County Council issued a resolution Tuesday night urging all library branches to remain open and requesting the County Executive David Craig transfer money in the budget to save the Fallston branch.
In a letter Tuesday to members of the Fallston Community Council and other constituents, Harford County Councilman Joseph Woods explained it was not the County Council’s decision to close the Fallston, or any other branch, of the library.
“I was as surprised as everyone else to find this was happening,” he wrote.
Woods also posed a slew of intriguing questions that he suggests citizens should ask during Thursday’s public hearing on the branch closure, which begins at 6:00 p.m. in the Bel Air Branch.
Woods ponders why the county is proceeding with construction of a new library in Churchville if there isn’t ...Continue Reading
The Fallston Branch of the Harford County Public Library may close by the end of the month in a cost-saving manuever deemed necessary after the County Executive and County Council mandated an additional 5% cut from each departmental budget.
The Library Board of Trustees will meet Thursday to determine the fate of the Fallston Branch, which was picked for closure based on its old age, poor location, and apparent lack of use, after the library system learned it would have to make another $800,000 in unanticipated budget cuts.
In an email sent to all library staff Thursday evening, library director Audra Caplan wrote:
The Harford County Public Library (HCPL) Board of Trustees, in response to an unanticipated, additional $800,000, or 5% budget cut from the County Council on Friday May 29, will vote on the necessity of closing the Fallston Branch at the June 18th Board Meeting. The branch closure is ...Continue Reading
