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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Salt Lake City officials are considering keeping the city's main library branch open for 24 hours a day, a proposal that some residents worry could effectively turn the facility into a homeless shelter.
The downtown library branch currently closes at 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 5 p.m. on Sundays.
John Spears, the library's executive director, told the City Council on Tuesday that scheduled hours don't accommodate residents who work a nontraditional schedule.
"This is a chance to serve a large segment of our community that can't make it during regular hours," Spears said, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Spears has proposed trying out the extended hours for two years, which would cost about $300,000.
Only two of the building's six floors would be open overnight, Spears said, and security personnel would remain there all night.
Some council members and residents said they worry the extended hours will make it a magnet for homeless people.
Councilwoman Lisa Adams said the proposal sounds like a great idea, but "I'm concerned that we may turn the library into some place that people don't want to come to for its intended purposes."
Resident John Sayer said he thinks the issue needs to be studied more and worries crime will increase.
Spears said homeless people are welcomed at the library, but they won't be allowed to treat it like a shelter.
"All the regulations that apply to the library during the day are also on at night," Spears said. "We won't allow people to sleep or camp out."
Councilman Luke Garrott said he thinks the idea will benefit downtown Salt Lake City's "night owls," and if it becomes a problem, the city can end it.
The Deseret News reports library officials are preparing a report on the proposal.
The Salt Lake City Council is scheduled to vote on the idea by Dec. 22.
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