Hennepin County Cutting Library Hours

The Hennepin County Library system expects to cut hours in 2027 with some libraries closing on Sundays or offering eight-hour service days.

The Golden Valley Library is one of the impacted libraries and would close on Sundays.

It’s currently open from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Across the library system, open hours will decrease by about 7 percent.

“The cost of providing Hennepin County’s public services continues to grow,” library officials wrote in a announcement. “Countywide cost pressures include increasing personnel costs, rising employee health insurance costs, technology and facilities expenses, inflation in supplies and services, and uncertainty surrounding federal funding.”

The Hennepin County Library system expects to cut hours in 2027, with some libraries closing on Sundays or offering eight-hour service days.

The change in hours isn’t due to a lack of library use, according to the announcement.

“The library has more than 600,000 active cardholders—the highest number in a decade,” the announcement stated. “An average of approximately 14,000 people visit our libraries each day. First-time checkouts have increased each year since 2020 and now exceed pre-pandemic circulation with 12.8 million first-time checkouts in 2025.”

Meanwhile, the library system plans to keep some of its open jobs unfilled.

“Since 2025, our collections budget has shrunk by approximately $1.5 million,” the announcement read. “Hiring has slowed across job classes, and spending on public computers, employee training, and other operating expenses has also been reduced. Meeting the budget target will require the Library to hold open a significant number of vacant positions. At the same time, Southdale and Westonka libraries are expected to reopen in 2027 and will need to be staffed. With fewer staff available across the system, the Library cannot maintain all current hours while safely and reliably operating every location.”

The change in hours is part of the library’s proposed budget, which has not yet been approved by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners.

A full chart of the proposed changes is available on the library’s website.

Golden Valley