We the undersigned object to the proposal in the City of Alexandria's FY 2014 budget to reduce by two hours weekly the time Duncan Library is open to the public. The proposal will force loss of one half of the Library's evening hours currently available to working families, students, and many others for whom accessing earlier hours is not practical. The Del Ray community will also be deprived of valuable time for research projects, job searches, and tutoring sessions. In addition, the practical effect is to reduce the evening availability of Duncan’s only meeting room to two hours a week. That means many of the ongoing activities valued by the public, such as the book group, the poetry club, and the movie night would need to compete unnecessarily with outside organizations booking the room for programs and meetings. We oppose the threatened reduction and urge the City Council to leave the library budget alone. GIVE BACK THE HOURS.