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Port Moody Public Library reopens July 6, but please don't linger

Facility has been closed to book browsers for several months
Marc Saunders
The director of Port Moody Public Library, Marc Saunders, is looking forward to seeing people amidst the stacks again when the facility reopens on July 6.

An essential component of Port Moody’s public library will be returning July 6: the public.

That’s when the library at the Inlet Centre civic complex reopens its doors to visitors after being closed for several months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And while the hours of operation will be reduced to 6.5 a day [10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday, except Tuesdays, when it will be open from 12:30 to 7 p.m.] and all of the furniture that encourages lingering and lounging will be squirrelled away into the closed-off study rooms or turned towards walls and windows, library director Marc Saunders said it will be good to have human beings wandering the stacks again. As long as they follow the directional arrows of course, and respect physical distancing.

Sauders said while staff and patrons were quick to embrace online programming during the lockdown, like book talks, story time and instructional sessions on using resources like e-books, they also felt the absence of human interaction.

“You can provide so much programming in a virtual environment, but we can’t connect with people in the same way,” he said.

Even the implementation in late May of curbside pickups and drop-offs of books and other materials provided only fleeting exchanges.

Saunders said that void has given everyone a renewed appreciation for the library’s role as a community builder.

“I think we’ve always known how much people really love the library, but now it’s just so much more clear,” he said.

Other changes visitors can initially expect when the library’s doors reopen include plexiglass shields at all service desks, signs encouraging quick, purposeful visits, and the absence of computer terminals for internet access. Saunders said some procedures may be modified once staff have had an opportunity to monitor traffic flow.

Late fees will continue to be waived until Sept. 1, and when library materials are returned, they’re being quarantined for 72 hours. 

Saunders said the new protocols have been devised with guidance from WorkSafe BC, as well as consultation with other libraries. And while some may seem extreme, especially as there’s been no documented incidents of novel coronavirus transmission from handling books, he said libraries have always operated with an abundance of caution.

“Librarians are just very cautious, conservative people,” he said. “We do take people’s safety to heart.”