Tuscaloosa Public Library (TPL) board will reduce programming, cut operating hours and enact a hiring freeze on Dec. 1 due to budget cuts, according to a statement sent by executive director Jennifer Pearson.

“Over the last 10 years, collectively, our funding has decreased,” Pearson said in an interview. “We did have a reserve fund, which was depleted two years ago.” Pearson provided budget data for the last decade, and the main branch’s funding decreased by about 4.6% between 2014 and 2024.

According to the press release, the Brown Branch on Bobby Miller Parkway will close in 2024, and the Brown Branch, along with the main library’s hours, will change in December prior to that closure. TPL will discontinue the eBook and audiobook collection Overdrive/Libby, which holds over 40,000 digital titles, including 13,000 for Tuscaloosa City and County students. Students have had access to it for the last four years.

The library will reduce the purchase of books and materials by 15%. This is on top of a 30% reduction from last year, according to the press release. The summer reading program will run for four weeks instead of eight weeks.

TPL will purchase three book vending machines throughout the county using American Rescue Plan Act funding, including one in the Bobby Miller Para Center before the center closes Feb. 2, 2024.

The main library hours will change on Dec. 1 to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and closed Sunday. The Brown Branch hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, closed Tuesday through Thursday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. Weaver Bolden library hours will not change.

Tuscaloosa County and the cities of Tuscaloosa and Northport fund the library system. Pearson said per capita, the spending is less at the city’s main branch than in comparable cities. She said the city and the county have responded to requests about discussing a funding solution, but Northport hasn’t responded.