Beginning Sept. 1, all Hall County libraries will operate on fewer hours during the week and close entirely on the weekends.

Adrian Mixson, Hall County Library System director, said the changes were made in response to significant funding challenges for fiscal 2013, which started July 1, and the construction of a new branch, the North Hall Community and Technology Center.

“To compensate for this increased operating expense, we will be providing fewer days and hours of service,” Mixson wrote on the system’s Facebook page.

The system is funded from three revenue sources — county government pays for 80 percent, state government 15 percent and the rest comes from fines, fees and gifts.

The system is operating this fiscal year with about $2.56 million, about $160,000 less than the fiscal 2012 budget of about $2.73 million. That includes a $183,000 hit in funding from impact fees. Its operating budget from the county was increased by about $24,000.

In addition to the overall smaller budget, the system is coping with the increased cost of state health insurance, which Mixson said “has drained our resources.”

This isn’t the first time the system has had to make cuts in recent years.

To cope with budget cuts in 2011, the system closed two libraries and adopted alternate schedules for the remaining libraries.

Mixson said 664 days of library service were lost last year, factoring in the shorter hours at each facility and the closing of two libraries.

“We closed two (libraries) and got rid of 20 people and now we’re asked to add a building with no additional money. That’s a challenge,” Mixson said.

Two libraries, Murrayville and Blackshear Place, were reduced at that time to opening only four days a week.

After the closings in 2011, the system added more than 5,000 new patrons but had nearly 112,000 fewer visits. The busiest days for libraries in the system are weekdays during the summer. Around 560 people visit the Gainesville branch on an average Saturday, Mixson said.

The new branch in North Hall won’t be a typical library, though patrons will still be able to order any book they like and have it delivered to the technology center. The center will provide patrons with access to wireless Internet and the only Apple computer lab in the system.

In some ways, Mixson said, the center will be more labor intensive for staff since all books will need to be picked up and delivered to the facility.

Scott Gibbs, Hall County District 3 commissioner, said people in his district are excited about the opening of the new park and technology center and that the area has been underserved with new facilities and developments. He said cuts should be countywide, not just in one particular district.

“Folks in my district are just as important as everyone else in the county,” Gibbs said.

Mixson said the library board has said it will readdress the issue in December to see if the hours need to be adjusted so more people have access.

“We’re treating everybody the same. I don’t care where you live in Hall County. After Sept. 1, everybody is treated the same ... everybody in Hall County has the same access no matter where they go,” Mixson said.

Library patrons have mixed emotions about the reduced hours.

Chris Hamman of Gainesville said he thinks the new hours are “horrible.” He and his wife make frequent trips to the library on their days off.

“One of the things we do on the weekends is come to the library, and so now we’ll have to adjust everything and come during the week,” Hamman said.

Hamman said cutting back on library access is a shame because of its cultural importance to the community.

Debbie Roszel of Flowery Branch visits the library weekly with her children who are home-schooled. She said the biggest challenge will be being able to turn books back in on time since book drops also will be closed. Patrons can easily extend their checkouts online or by phone to avoid late fees.

“Realistically, I know they’re having to cut back budgets everywhere and this is not a very painful way to do it,” Roszel said.