Saraland Library Hours in Dispute as City, Mobile Public Library Clash Over $100,000

Update, Oct. 26: The Saraland branch of the Mobile Public Library opened on time and on its normal schedule Monday morning after a weekend of confusion over its hours. Later Monday, Mobile Public Library Director Jurée Hall-Mitchell asked the Mobile County Commission to help restart stalled talks with Saraland over the city’s $100,000 funding cut, and Saraland Mayor Joe McDonald issued a statement defending the city’s contributions. Details are in the new section below.

Latest developments: Library open as director takes concerns to county commissioners

As of 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26, the Saraland branch had opened on time and was operating as usual. The library system had walked back its Friday announcement on Saturday, apologizing “for any confusion previous messages may have conveyed” and saying it would honor the mayor’s request to keep regular hours. The system said more updates on Saraland services are coming.

Saraland City Council President Natalie Moye reiterated Monday that there are no plans to reduce hours or services. “It’s normal business hours. There are zero intentions or plans for the hours to be cut, the scope of services to be cut,” she said.

Director asks county to help

Hall-Mitchell appeared before Mobile County commissioners during their Monday meeting at Government Plaza and said communication between the library system and the city has stopped. She said she has approached the city four times with meeting requests without a response, and that a meeting with the mayor was scheduled but later canceled and has not been rescheduled.

“The City of Saraland branch is open and will continue to be open,” Hall-Mitchell told commissioners. “But we have to have a conversation about how we move forward, what services are going to be affected if they’re affected, or if they believe that they can continue that. I’ve asked for a lot of funding, and I’ve asked for only the same amount that we’ve used in previous years.”

She said the Saraland branch’s entire budget is about $305,000, meaning the $100,000 cut amounts to roughly one-third of its annual budget. She said the system has asked Saraland for “level funding,” noting that “everything has gone up,” including the cost of electronic databases, computer equipment and software licenses. Services “will not be cut, but may have to be streamlined in some kind of way,” she said, adding, “That would be the city’s decision.”

The commission agreed to have county administrators help set up a meeting between the two sides, which have not met for weeks.

“You got to communicate before you reach a point to understand how things can be changed or why they happen,” Commissioner Connie Hudson said.

Mayor: Saraland has given more than $1.5 million

McDonald responded in a written statement Monday afternoon.

“I want to clarify that the funding being discussed is contributions to the library. Over the last six years, the City of Saraland has given over $1.5 million in funding to the library in addition to paying for utility, landscaping, building maintenance, and custodial fees. In fact, last year we went over and above that amount for capital improvements. In reviewing the City budget in September, we reduced that funding amount, which is still significant in comparison to other contributions,” McDonald said.

“We’re committed to maintaining library services for our community, and are in discussions with representatives of the Mobile Public Library Board. Our focus remains on finding a solution in the best interest of our citizens, and we’re confident we will reach an appropriate resolution.”

‘Are we subsidizing other libraries?’

Moye said the dispute is about fairness, not the statewide debate over where certain books are shelved in youth sections. In the city’s view, she said, Saraland pays more per capita to support the library system than any other municipality in Mobile County.

“We are looking at this like, ‘we have to figure out what is going on,'” Moye said. “Are we subsidizing other libraries? Other municipalities are paying nothing. We decided … let’s reduce the funding until we find out what is going on.”

Moye said the city could not locate a current agreement with the library system; the only one officials found dates to the 1980s. Hall-Mitchell told commissioners an agreement has been in place since the mid-1980s allowing the library system to operate the Saraland branch, and she agreed it may be time to update it, along with agreements with other affiliated cities, including Semmes and Mobile.

Moye said the city owns the library building and everything in it, “the books … everything,” and that running it as a city library is “an option we can consider,” though the full council would decide. She said she hopes the city can stay with the Mobile Public Library system under a new agreement that lets Saraland “pay for our fair share,” and she believes McDonald will meet with library officials soon.

“We’re really disappointed in the way the library has chosen to pursue this matter,” Moye said. “Ultimately, two organizations should be able to work together than drag their patrons and constituents through anything like this.”

How the system is funded

According to the library’s website, the Mobile Public Library system is funded by the cities of Mobile and Saraland and by Mobile County. It includes the Ben May Main Library, 10 additional locations and a bookmobile. Moye said Semmes does not contribute. The City of Mobile spends close to $8 million on the system, and the Mobile City Council voted last month to add another $400,000.

Questions about city contributions have come up before. In 2018, the Mobile City Council restored a $500,000 library cut proposed by then-Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s administration after comparing Mobile’s library spending with Huntsville’s and Montgomery’s.

The earlier report follows.

SARALAND, Ala. — The Mobile Public Library system and the City of Saraland are publicly at odds over Saraland library hours, after the library system announced the branch would cut back to two days a week and city leaders said no such reduction would happen.

Update, Oct. 24: Library says Saraland hours will stay the same for now

On Saturday, the Mobile Public Library posted a special update to City of Saraland patrons, saying it will keep the branch on its regular schedule for the coming week at the mayor’s request.

“Thank you for your patience as the Library and City work together to move through budgetary work sessions related to library services,” the update reads. “Mayor McDonald and Director Hall-Mitchell are committed to citizens of the City of Saraland, and maintaining service levels as in previous years. The library will honor Mayor McDonald’s request not to change services, but to maintain regular library business hours for the upcoming week. We apologize for any confusion previous messages may have conveyed.”

The library system said it will share more updates about Saraland patron services as they become available. The two-day schedule announced earlier is not in effect for the upcoming week while the city and library system continue budget work sessions.

The original report follows.

In a social media post, the Mobile Public Library said the Saraland branch would be open only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., starting Monday, Oct. 26. The branch has been open six days a week. The library system said the change followed the Saraland City Council’s adoption of its fiscal year budget, which cut the branch’s funding by $100,000.

Saraland officials pushed back quickly. City Council President Natalie Moye said she was surprised by the post and that the library’s hours and services would not be reduced. As of Friday night, Oct. 23, the Mobile Public Library’s website listed the Saraland branch as open only on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

What the library system says

The Mobile Public Library’s post said the reduced schedule was a response to the budget the city approved.

“The Mobile Public Library will continue to prioritize library services for all patrons. We are committed to the Library’s mission and goals for literacy,” said Library Director Juree Hall-Mitchell. “Based on the budget that was approved by the Saraland City Council, we are happy to continue services on these days. We stand willing and interested in continuing to work with the City of Saraland to meet their needs.”

What Saraland officials say

Moye said the library will keep its normal schedule.

“It’s normal business hours. There are zero intentions or plans for the hours to be cut, the scope of services to be cut. We plan on to continue to offer a library for our community that’s great, growing, thriving,” she said.

Moye also said there is no set budget or agreed-upon amount between Saraland and the library system. She said the city owns the library property, computers and books, and that Saraland has given the Mobile Public Library system more than $1 million over six years.

She said the library would be open Saturday and operate as usual on Monday.

Saraland City Council member Kevin Dean also responded in a social media post. Dean said the city had agreed to pay $100,000 and still expected the library to be open six days a week, every day except Sunday. His post noted that the city owns the building and pays its utilities.

“I was incredibly disappointed that the Mobile Public Library organization decided to make this a social media cause in order to get more money from Saraland,” Dean said in the post. “The fact that we have agreed to still pay $100,000 a year and they only want to be open two days a week is absolutely absurd. That means for $100,000 more of your money they would be open for six days a week. This makes no sense to me. We will come to a resolution one way or the other.”

Where the two sides differ

The public statements from the library system and city officials point to several areas of disagreement:

• Hours: The library system says the branch will be open two days a week beginning Oct. 26. City officials say it will keep its normal six-day schedule.
• Funding: The library system says the city cut the branch’s budget by $100,000. Dean said the city agreed to pay $100,000 a year, and his statement suggested the library system was seeking $100,000 more to stay open six days. Moye said there is no set budget or agreed-upon amount between the city and the system.
• Who provides what: City officials say Saraland owns the building, the computers and the books and pays the utilities.

Neither side has publicly released a written agreement spelling out the terms of the arrangement, and it was not immediately clear on Friday how the dispute would be resolved before Monday.

Saraland branch at a glance

• Schedule posted by the library system: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., starting Monday, Oct. 26
• Previous schedule: Six days a week, closed Sundays
• City’s position: Open Saturday, Oct. 24, and on a normal schedule Monday, Oct. 26
• Disputed amount: $100,000
• City’s contribution, per Moye: More than $1 million over six years

How the Saraland library fits into the Mobile system

The Mobile Public Library, founded in 1902, operates 11 locations, including the Ben May Main Library in downtown Mobile, the Local History and Genealogy Library and branches across Mobile County, along with a bookmobile. The Saraland Public Library is one of those locations. The system lists the City of Mobile, Mobile County and the City of Saraland as its funding sources.

That arrangement means the Saraland branch depends on a partnership between the city, which provides the building and other support, and the library system, which staffs and operates the branch as part of its network. When a city and a regional library system disagree over how much each side contributes, branch hours are often where the dispute becomes visible to the public, because staffing is typically the largest cost of keeping a library open.

Branches in a system like Mobile’s usually share a catalog, so patrons can borrow and return materials at any location and request items from other branches. That means Saraland residents would still have access to other Mobile Public Library locations if the local branch’s hours change, though the nearest alternatives would require a drive.

Budget season in Saraland

Alabama cities typically operate on a fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, and councils adopt their budgets in September or shortly after. Saraland, a city of about 16,000 residents north of Mobile, has been growing, and it recently won a $2.6 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfields cleanup grant to remove contaminated fill at The Land sports complex, opening the door to new fields and parking. Saraland Water & Sewer also raised water and sewer rates on October statements.

The library dispute comes as communities across the region are weighing how to pay for local services. In Baldwin County, the Foley City Council recently accepted $17,000 in donations and grants for the Foley library to fund Saturday and part-time staffing and its STEAM lab.

What patrons should know

• City officials say the Saraland library will be open Saturday, Oct. 24, and on its normal schedule Monday, Oct. 26.
• The Mobile Public Library’s website, as of Friday night, listed the branch as open Wednesdays and Saturdays only.
• Because the two sides are giving different information, patrons may want to call the branch or check the library system’s website before making a trip.
• Library cards issued by the Mobile Public Library can be used at any of the system’s locations.

Dean said in his post that the city and library system would reach a resolution “one way or the other.” Hall-Mitchell said the library system remains willing to work with Saraland to meet the city’s needs.