The Associated Press is reporting that D.C. Public Library Director Ginnie Cooper has already formally decided to reduce hours at the city’s libraries, effective March 2. It was just yesterday that Cooper was merely considering a reduction in service in order to address mounting budget constraints. A message on the DCPL web site still says the reduced library hours are just a possibility.

DCPL faced a similar decision last summer, but that time around, Mayor Adrian Fenty swooped in and located an additional $2 million to keep the libraries open. This time, the District is facing budget shortfalls for the next couple of years.

The AP report says the revised hours will lead the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library to close at 5:30 p.m., instead of 9 p.m., on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and that neighborhood branches will open later and close earlier on weekdays, and kiosk branches will close one day a week. We’ll be sure to update once the library releases more specifics.