LITTLE ROCK — The U.S. Postal Service will contact rural libraries about also acting as post offices in small towns, Arkansas State Librarian Carolyn Ashcraft said Friday.
Of the nearly 400 post offices that could see a reduction in the hours they are open, 49 are near a public library, she said.
“They are recognizing that the library in those small rural areas are community centers, but how much can we put on the staff?” Ashcraft said.
The Postal Service is looking for ways to cut its budget, including not delivering mail on Saturdays or closing offices that serve small populations. Thursday it announced losses of $57 million per day in the last quarter and warned it will miss a second payment in a row on future retirement benefits to the U.S. Treasury.
In May it backed away from plans to close 3,700 post offices in part because of the outcry from small communities that said the offices are their only contact with the outside world.
Instead, the nearly bankrupt U.S. Postal Service said it would limit hours of operation at some facilities.
The Postal Service has identified 391 Arkansas offices that could face reduced hours; many would be open for two to four hours at a time. The service’s plan includes reduced hours for about 13,000 post offices nationwide.
An option proposed by the service is the Village Post Office program, wherein private businesses or public facilities would house basic post office functions such as selling stamps and hosting P.O. boxes.
Postal Service spokesman Leisa Tolliver-Gay said choosing the Village Post Office option means the postal services would be open when the business or public agency is open. Tolliver-Gay said libraries are just one option.
“They’re not limiting it to a specific type of business,” Tolliver-Gay said. “It really depends on what is available.”
Ashcraft informed librarians that they might be approached by the U.S. Postal Service in an e-mail Aug. 1.
“In some communities, libraries may be interested in adding this service. Many people feel they are losing a ‘community anchor’ when a post office leaves and it may be a natural for libraries to step in,” it states.
Ashcraft told the State Library Board on Friday that it isn’t the first time libraries have been asked to expand the services they provide.
“It’s kind of like when libraries were roped into providing tax forms for the IRS. Some of them were happy to do it, some of them said they don’t have the space, they don’t have the staff, they can’t provide tax assistance.” Ashcraft said.
State Library spokesman Danny Koonce said libraries that might be contacted by postal officials are in Altheimer, Arkansas City, Ben Lomond, Caraway, Cedarville, Cotton Plant, Crawfordsville, Delight, DeValls Bluff, Dyess, Edmondson, Elaine, Evening Shade, Fulton, Gillett, Gillham, Gilmore, Gould, Hartford, Hector, Hermitage, Horatio, Huttig, Imboden, Keiser, Kingston, Lockesburg, Luxora, Lynn, Mineral Springs, Monette, Norphlett, Pangburn, St. Paul, Sparkman, Stephens, Taylor, Thornton, Tillar, Tollette, Twin Groves, Viola, Watson, Weiner, Williford, Wilmar, Wilson, Winslow and Winthrop.
The Postal Service will hold public meetings to let communities weigh in on whether they prefer closing their post office, keeping it open for fewer hours or having another town entity, such as the library, take on the post office’s responsibilities under the Village Post Office Program.
Tolliver-Gay said public meetings in the affected community will happen, but there is not a timeline and no meetings have been scheduled yet.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 08/11/2012