File Photo Leah Brown, right, works at the desk of the Children’s Library at Minot Public Library on Nov. 14.

The Minot Public Library has canceled its Smart Start programming temporarily for the rest of the month due to staffing issues.

Smart Start is a story and activity program designed for children between ages 3 and 5 and a caretaker. The program aims to build skills for school through stories and related hands-on activities such as cutting and gluing.

In an announcement released on social media, the library cited unexpected circumstances but stated the staff was hopeful the program will return by fall.

Zhaina Moya, library director, said a number of factors played a role in the decision, which primarily stemmed from staffing issues in the children’s department of the library.

Moya said several staff members are gone on previously scheduled vacations, one is unavailable due to illness and another was recently let go. Moya said she completely understands the disappointment expressed by members of the public who regularly took part in the program, but the library doesn’t have the staffing capacity to operate Smart Start in July.

“That said, our goal is to have the department fully staffed and return to our regular programming schedule — including Smart Start — in August. We know how much this program means to families in our community and we’re doing everything we can to ensure it returns as soon as possible,” Moya said.