Reductions in local post office hours may provide new opportunities for public libraries. Nearly 13,000 of the more than 31,000 U.S. post offices nationwide are likely to see reduced hours in the future, including some Idaho locations. The United States Postal Service (USPS) may be reaching out to some libraries to explore the possibility of establishing “Village Post Offices” in local public libraries. With potential reductions in service looming, USPS is looking at various types of entities (service stations, convenience stores, and libraries) to find locations that would be interested in adding limited
postal service.

The first library “Village Post Office” opened August 1 at the Leighton Township Library Moline Michigan. In this case, the library director approached local post office officials to explore how the library might offer some postal services. Read more here.

More information can be found at the following links:

• IMLS blog- “Is a Village Post Office Coming to a Library Near You?” by Director Susan Hildreth at http://blog.imls.gov/?p=1705
• Fact sheet describing the Village Post Office program at http://about.usps.com/news/electronic-press-kits/expandedaccess/assets/pdf/vpo-fact-sheet-110726.pdf
• CNSNews article-"Postal Service: Will keep rural post offices open" at
  http://cnsnews.com/news/article/postal-service-will-keep-rural-post-offices-open

Idaho is in the USPS Western Region. The Western Village Post Office (VPO) Coordinator is Mark Lane at (303) 313-5490.