Due to a 10% cut to the Library’s budget request, the Library Board of Trustees has found it necessary to end several Library services. Sunday hours at Kennedy Library, which had begun in the mid-1990s, will end as of December 2, 2007. In addition, the Library Bookmobile will cease its service to neighborhood, corporate and school stops in the Township.  Due to mechanical problems, the Bookmobile service was halted on October 25, 2007.

"Making these changes has been very painful for the Board and the Library," said Library Board President Evelyn Hartmann. "Piscataway Library prides itself on its service to the Township. However, the Board decided that these changes were the most fiscally responsible way to address our budget shortfall promptly while maintaining core services in the buildings."

Hartmann noted that the halt in Bookmobile service was prompted by the fact that the vehicle is nearly 20 years old with frequent mechanical problems, and that continuing service, even without budget cuts, was questionable. The Sunday opening, although popular with residents, was the most recent addition to Library hours, so it was considered appropriate for these hours to be the first cut.

Other Library services will also be impacted. Municipally funded adult programs will be cut, and Library funding for books, videos, DVDs, CDs, audio books and other materials will be cut in half.

"We will still be purchasing new materials," said Library Director Anne Roman, "but we will not be able to buy as many new titles and multiple copies as before. Waits for best sellers and popular materials may be longer." In addition, the Library will now charge fees for the use of its meeting rooms by the public.

The budget cuts at the Library are part of a Township-wide budget reduction. So that the Township can minimize the tax increase for residents, a 10% cut in Township department budgets has been imposed.