I wrote most of this at home, but as a gimmick, I was going to give it one last proofread before publishing it from a computer at the Detroit Public Library last Sunday. That was the plan anyway.
A year ago from last Monday, the Detroit Public Library opened on a Sunday for the first time ever this millennium. To be precise, the Main Library (the one on Woodward, symmetrically facing the Detroit Institute of Arts), and also two branches on opposite sides of town.
For me, the Library is mainly about the books. The computers are often convenient, but I have almost all the programs I need at home.
Still, the Library has been making an effort to keep up with advances in information technology, offering several electronic resources in addition to books and periodicals on paper.
From the beginning it was decided that there wouldn’t be Sunday hours in the summer. I think it was the Sunday before Memorial Day that was the last Sunday before the summer.
There were no more Sunday hours until last Sunday. Some things came up, and I didn’t go like I had planned to. Today, I did go, mainly because of the Ann Arbor Guitar Trio concert at the Main Library.
There were Sunday hours at the Detroit Public Library last millennium. According to a press release, the Library had Sunday hours until 1981, when they were discontinued “as a result of budget cuts.”
That was about thirty years before the Detroit bankruptcy. I don’t think I even knew how to read back then, definitely hadn’t learned English yet.
But by middle school and high school, I definitely availed myself to the schools’ libraries. They were very limited compared to the Detroit Public Library’s Main Library.
And even the Wayne State University Library System (WSULS) has certain gaps that the Detroit Public Library covers. The university libraries, at least the ones on the main campus, are generally open on Sundays.
I have access to WSULS on account of being a WSU alum, though apparently there is a way Detroit residents can access WSULS. And that way is, I think, through the Detroit Public Library. Ask a librarian at the Detroit Public Library for details.
The Main Library will be open on Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. So will the Redford and Wilder Branches. This will probably continue until May of next year, and then resume in October.
All the usual library services will be available on Sundays, plus some extra special events. The other branches will be closed on Sundays. For more information, visit the Library’s website.