FIRST SUNDAY ATTENDANCE PLEASES LIBRARY

Sunday hours proved to be popular with users of the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

Director Terry Risko said 115 people visited the library Sunday, which had Sunday hours for the first time ever.

"We thought if we got 100 people that would be pretty good," Risko said. "We saw there was a definite need" for Sunday hours.

About 400 books were checked out between the time the library opened at noon until 4 p.m. when it closed. The Sunday hours will be in effect through April on a trial basis. Risko said if people continue to use the library on Sundays, it will establish regular Sunday hours for the fall and winter months.

Risko said because the staff is small, the library can't offer reference services on Sunday.

"It's a volunteer staff, and we don't have anyone manning the reference desk," he said. The reference desk is staffed during the week and on Saturdays.

Sundays are strictly for checking in and checking out books, he said.

Risko said several families came in together to use the library, and the Sunday hours also attracted people who had not visited the library for a while.

"I think this indicates that people are busy during the week and can't come to the library," he said.

Kent Library on the Southeast Missouri State University campus is open from 1:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Sundays. The Jackson Public Library and Riverside Regional Library have no Sunday hours.