The Lewiston Public Library was closed in observance of Presidents Day on Monday. So was the Auburn Public Library. As were libraries in Lisbon Falls, Turner, Monmouth, Rumford, Mexico, Dixfield, South Paris and Oxford.

The Norway Memorial Library was open, a pleasant and welcome surprise on a federal holiday.

Ann Siekman, library director in Norway, explained that the library remains open on all but four of the federal holidays because “Those are the times that people who are off work can come, who might ordinarily be working,” including school employees. “We figure it’s a good opportunity to be open.”

She’s right. It is a good opportunity, and it fulfills one of the major initiatives of the American Library Association: to promote high use of libraries nationwide.

It is terribly difficult for people chained to busy schedules to find time to visit their local libraries. It just makes sense for libraries, all of which are hungry for patrons, to be open at hours that are convenient for visitors, including holidays and weekends.

It could be argued that remaining open on a holiday has a cost, and that may be true, but, as Siekman points out, full-time employees get paid for federal holidays whether they work or not, much like employees in many private sector jobs.

Libraries could offer employees a floating holiday for working a federal holiday, and if there is real concern for costs like heat and electricity, libraries could choose to trim hours elsewhere, perhaps a weekday morning that might see less foot traffic.

If the Norway library, situated in a town of some 4,635 residents, can dedicate itself to serve an estimated 31,775 annual visitors at visitors’ convenience, surely libraries on the scale of Lewiston and Auburn, with their larger budgets and estimated 185,700 and 223,342 annual visits, respectively, can and should do the same.

All libraries ought to consider shifting hours away from traditional workday hours and concentrating more on meeting the needs and schedules of patrons, which includes expanding Saturday hours and opening on Sundays. With such vast collections of information to be shared, it just doesn’t make sense to lock doors on people eager to get inside.