One has to hand it to Sampson County Library System director Heather Bonney. She’s found a way, in difficult economic times, to make a half empty glass look half full instead.

A 10 percent reduction of a state grant, from $151, 411 to $136, 270, has forced Bonney and the library’s board of trustees to change the operating hours for all the library branches, dropping approximately two hours per day from what had been its normal operating schedule.

But instead of seeing the whittling away of the hours as a detriment to patrons, Bonney is choosing to find the silver lining in budget cuts that were a necessary evil.

The library director says the change in hours will ensure that branches are fully staffed at all times, that security guards won’t be needed and that system staff members won’t have to worry about swing shifts that aren’t always easy nor popular.

What’s more, Bonney believes the change in hours will be beneficial to patrons, even though they are losing time in which they could utilize the library. The change in shifts, she said, will make it possible to have a librarian in the Children’s Room during the day and possibly have someone in the history room.

It’s admirable that Bonney has chosen the high road in a situation which easily lends itself to complaining and the pointing of negative fingers, as we’ve seen with others who’ve seen departmental budgets cut, services reduced and even pay cut.

While it’s understandable how these tough economic conditions can sour one’s mood and leave them looking at the half-empty glass, we applaud Bonney for finding a way to turn what could easily have become a negative into a far more positive scenario.

We hate there has to be a cut in the library system’s hours, but we, like Bonney, believe there are pluses that can be found even in these reductions.

We urge patrons to utilize the library as much as they always have, and provide encouraging words to Bonney and her staff as they work their hardest to continue providing the quality service we’ve come to expect from the system.

That won’t chance because the hours have been reduced. In fact, it’s likely the service will only improve since Bonney will have, in her words, a “full crew” at patrons disposal each and every day the library is open.

That is certainly something in which to be grateful. Another is a library director like Bonney who, even facing challenging times, has found a way to make it work for the system and most especially for the patrons.