Just after noon one cloudy Sunday, Burnsville resident Fay Li found herself in a study room at the Burnhaven library studying for an exam to become a registered nurse.
The library, however, wouldn’t open for another hour. Li got access to the library as part of initiatives by two south metro libraries, called Extended Access, to allow patrons access to facilities during hours when the building is officially closed and when staff isn’t present.
Fourteen such libraries in Dakota and Scott County are accessible to patrons with pre-registration, with the Galaxie library in Apple Valley and the Savage library being accessible as of this month. One more library branch each in Dakota and Scott County will be accessible after-hours later this summer.
For Li, who commuted from Shakopee to the Burnhaven library before relocating just to take advantage of extended access hours, it’s given her time to study for the exam.
“One time I was just coming here to study and I really wanted to stay. One of the leaders said we have self access hours,” Li said.
Related | Checking in with Minnesota’s new alternative rideshare companies
Full after-hours access years in the making
Scott County began its foray in making its libraries accessible in off hours shortly after the Great Recession of 2008. County officials said they made their library meeting rooms accessible off-hours between 2009 and 2010.
Scott County Library officials say the response to off-hours meeting room use inspired them to provide access to other library resources.
“The positive response to after-hours meeting room use inspired SCL (Scott County Libraries) to consider how we could similarly provide access to other desirable resources like Wi-Fi, computers, and study spaces,” Scott County spokesperson Lisa Kohner said.
From 2018 to 2019, Scott County worked with the University of Minnesota’s Resilient Communities Project to determine how to increase library access. The collaboration was part of a larger county effort to implement its 2040 comprehensive plan goals, which was crafted under the same state law that mandated Minneapolis’ controversial comprehensive plan.
Through the Resilient Communities Project collaboration, a research team of St. Catherine University library science students found enthusiastic interest in libraries open to the public beyond staffed hours, particularly from those who live in Jordan, a town off of Highway 169 10 miles southwest of Shakopee.
Scott County Libraries launched extended access at the Jordan library in September 2021, making it accessible to those with a registered library card from the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Since its launch, the branch has seen 11,619 extended-hours visitors. The Scott County library system has 1,370 registered users as of June 25.
Meanwhile, Dakota County Libraries launched extended access at the Farmington library early last year, making it accessible to users from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. County spokesperson Mary Beth Schubert said it started with Farmington because the branch had limited hours and “the need for more access was greatest there.” Since its launch, 2,737 people have registered to access libraries countywide after hours.
Scott County soon began to expand to other branch locations, including to New Prague in June of 2023. Extended hours usage at the New Prague branch soared since it started, doubling from 122 visits in June of 2023 to 255 in May of this year. The New Prague library has the second-highest off-hours visits among Scott County libraries, after the library in Jordan.
Related | North Loop Green brings nature into the ‘concrete jungle’
During a recent four-hour visit to the New Prague library on a Friday afternoon, when it is closed, a MinnPost reporter saw a group of homeschooled children playing with toys in a meeting room, as well as people coming and going to browse books and use computers.
Jennifer A., a New Prague resident who declined to share her last name with MinnPost for privacy reasons, was one of those patrons.
“I don’t have internet access so that’s why I come here,” said Jennifer, adding she has a very old computer.
The initiative costs Scott County $20,000 per branch annually, which includes software, security measures such as cameras, and staff time. For Dakota County, it spent $275,000 for security cameras, speakers for automated announcements, building modifications, and software adjustments, and plans to spend $150,000 annually on energy costs and utilities for all 10 locations.
“Ongoing software costs and staff time to support the process are needed whether we offer this service or not,” Dakota County spokesperson Mary Beth Schubert added.
Despite the lack of staff present off hours, Scott County librarian Kristy Rieger believes the initiative will require more staff, not less.
“Reducing staff would counterintuitively erode both the user experience and the sustainability of SCL’s overall operations. Many SCL, city, and county partners are working behind the scenes to ensure visitors have a great experience, regardless of when they visit the library. Long term, we expect extended access to gradually increase the need for staff, contingent on impacts to basic operations (shelving, item processing, etc.) and community demands for programming,” Rieger said.
How to get extended access
Nine of 10 Dakota County library branches are now accessible for extended hours, with the Galaxie library in Apple Valley joining the roster on July 8. Dakota County expects the Wentworth Branch library in West St. Paul to be accessible sometime in August.
Meanwhile, five of seven Scott County library branches are accessible off-hours, with the addition of the Savage library on July 1. The county expects to make the Prior Lake branch accessible sometime in September.
Scott County library officials have no immediate plans to make its Shakopee branch accessible for extended hours.
“As our largest branch, and our only branch with two floors, the Shakopee Library would likely require extensive and costly facility modifications to safely support extended access. As a result, we felt it best to pause and revisit Shakopee at a later date,” Rieger said, adding they increased staffed hours at Shakopee library in March 2024.
Securing access to a Dakota or Scott County library is relatively simple. A person first needs to have a library card from a Minnesota regional library system, which includes any library in the Twin Cities. They then need to register the library card in-person at a library associated with the system you wish to use after hours. They will also need to bring a state-issued identification card so library staff can verify the person’s identity.
Related | Six things you need to know about the Blue Line Extension’s expected environmental impacts
After a library card is registered with their system, a person will need to review a video about the service, as well as complete an access form. The access form for Dakota County libraries can be completed online, while the access form for Scott County must be completed in-person.
Rieger expects for patrons to obtain extended hours access on the same day they sign up. Indeed, the MinnPost reporter was granted extended hours access at Scott County Libraries the same day they registered their existing Hennepin County library card with the system last November. Meanwhile, Dakota County library officials expect to take one to three weeks to process applications for extended access, though the MinnPost writer was able to receive a proximity card to access Dakota County libraries in a little more than a week after registering their Hennepin County library card with Dakota County.
After-hours access elsewhere
In September, Hennepin County libraries converted its Osseo branch library into a self-service branch. Once open three days a week, the library is now open when Osseo City Hall is open.
Marnie Schuster, a Maple Grove resident, found herself visiting the Osseo City Hall to make copies one Monday in July. With the Osseo library open more often, Schuster thinks she may start visiting more.
“It’s right by my kids’ high school,” said Schuster.
Hennepin County Library also allows users to pick up reserved books at the Arvonne Fraser and Ridgedale libraries during certain hours when the library is not open. Holds at these libraries are kept in a separate room and can be accessed by scanning a library card.
Meanwhile, both the Carver County Library and Great River Regional Library systems, the latter serving central Minnesota, are considering following in Dakota and Scott County’s footsteps in allowing their patrons to use their libraries during off hours.
For the Great River Regional Library, it has not decided where to start the pilot. Because some of its libraries are located in city facilities, those cities would have to approve the pilot.
“It is too soon for us to name the specific location. We are discussing possible locations and will need city approval in order to move forward,” Executive Director Karen Pundsack said in an e-mail.
Libraries in Anoka, Carver and Washington counties, as well as the St. Paul Public Library, have lockers available for those who wish to pick up library materials either outside of library hours or outside of library facilities. For example, Carver County has three such lockers in municipal buildings in Cologne, Mayer, and Victoria, as well as one additional set of lockers at Southwest Transit’s Carver Station. The four Carver County lockers combined have a total circulation of 10,317 in 2023.
