Belgrade resident warns new library hours could drop city below state minimum; city cites funding and staffing limits

Ben Nielsen, a Belgrade resident and department head of adult programming and outreach at the Bozeman Public Library, told the Belgrade Community Library Advisory Board on a public-comment agenda item that the library’s planned permanent closure on Wednesdays could cause Belgrade to fall below the state’s published minimum operating hours for libraries serving more than 10,000 people.

Nielsen said the reduced hours would be “an embarrassment for the city of Belgrade” and warned it “will cause a loss of state funding for the library.” He urged the board to advise city management to restore Wednesday public hours or add a half-day elsewhere in the week so the library meets the state minimum of 40 hours per week.

The comment came during a public-comment period before advisory-board business. Nielsen identified himself as a frequent library user and…