Budget cuts are about to bring big changes to San Diego’s 37 neighborhood library branches — including shorter hours, shuffled staff and rescheduled activities.
Cuts approved by the mayor and City Council in June will wipe out Monday hours at 20 branches starting Sept. 15., leaving only 17 branches open on Mondays.
And those cuts, which come shortly after Sunday hours were eliminated at 14 branches on July 1, are prompting key staff to jump from branch to branch in what city officials are calling “the Great Reshuffling.”
The shorter hours are also forcing branches to quickly reschedule activities like author talks, photography exhibits and youth storytelling times — and let patrons know about those changes on the fly.
Local library supporters say the changes are disappointing and possibly could have been handled better.
“This was all very sudden for everybody,” said Pat Wilson, president of the Friends of the San Diego Public Library. “A lot of the staff are moving around. It’s kind of disruptive.”
Maureen Meadows, youth services librarian, works at her desk at the Rancho Peñasquitos library on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
City officials say the shorter hours are needed to help close a budget deficit of more than $300 million. The shorter hours are expected to save $5.1 million in the ongoing fiscal year, which projects to roughly $7 million in a full fiscal year.
They are part of roughly $100 million in cuts enacted in this year’s budget. Mayor Todd Gloria and the council closed the remainder of the deficit with about $150 million in new revenues from parking and fees, and by canceling $64 million in scheduled reserve contributions.
The reshuffling is the result of complex labor union rules regarding seniority and the desire of many workers to avoid working Saturdays, which are now part of the required five-day work week of Tuesday-through-Saturday at branches that will have no Monday hours.
Many branch managers, youth librarians and other key full-time staff are shifting to branches where Monday hours will continue so they can avoid working Saturdays.
And many of those moves are bumping less-tenured employees to other branches, starting the cycle again and bumping other employees with even less seniority.
Library assistant Alicia Lopez helps a teen in Rancho Penasquitos on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025 in San Diego. Library staff are switching to different branches citywide as a result of a staffing scramble touched off by cuts to Monday hours at many locations. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The process is essentially complete for full-time workers, but it has just begun for part-time workers and is expected to continue for them through Tuesday.
The labor union that represents the affected workers, the Municipal Employees Association, says this is a better outcome than a previous proposal by the mayor to shut all branches every Sunday and Monday.
That proposal would have included nearly three dozen layoffs and would have left a big hole in the mostly lower-income communities where branches will still have Monday service.
“We are focused on promoting fairness in scheduling, but it is just a fact that changing days and hours of operation in the library system is incredibly complicated and disruptive for all,” said Mike Zucchet, MEA general manager. “It is also important to note that this is happening in part because the city restored some Monday hours, maintaining critical services and saving dozens of jobs from layoffs, which are clearly good things.”
A city spokesperson said the complex process is necessary.
“With 573 active employees in the San Diego Public Library system, the city remains committed to providing a fair process and supportive work environment for everyone,” said the spokesperson, Jennifer McBride.
She said the “schedule selection process” was collaboratively developed by the city and MEA with a goal of ensuring that branches remain open and accessible to the communities they serve.
Wilson, the leader of the Friends group, said staff turnover is normal and expected, but this is different because it’s so much turnover happening all at once.
“We’ll muddle through and make the best of it,” she said. “As angry as some people are, I kind of want to put out a ray of sunshine.”
Wilson said the changes may prompt unexpected innovations. She also praised Misty Jones, the city library’s director, for how she has handled the turbulence.
A teen works in a booth at the library in Rancho Peñasquitos on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025 in San Diego. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The 17 branches that will keep their normal Monday hours of 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. were chosen primarily based on neighborhood income and the presence of after-school homework tutoring programs.
One exception is the La Jolla branch, which has its own separate nonprofit foundation that provided the city funding to keep the branch’s Monday hours in place.
The 17 branches that will continue to be open on Mondays are Allied Gardens, downtown, Carmel Valley, Logan Heights, Oak Park, City Heights, Rolando, Linda Vista, Mira Mesa, Point Loma, Rancho Bernardo, La Jolla, San Ysidro, Skyline Hills, Valencia Park, North Park and University Heights.
Before July 1, the city also offered Sunday service at 14 of its 37 branches. Those branches were Carmel Valley, downtown, City Heights, La Jolla, Logan Heights, Mira Mesa, Mission Valley, North University City, Otay Mesa, Pacific Beach, Point Loma, Rancho Bernardo, Serra Mesa-Kearny Mesa and Valencia Park.