The North Battleford Public Library staff were happy to reopen their doors to the public this week. (submitted photo/Donna Thiessen)

By Martin Martinson

Reading Returns

North Battleford Public Library reopens to community

Sep 11, 2020 | 5:22 PM

The North Battleford Public Library announced recently they have reopened their doors to the public, after being closed for nearly six months, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, even when the library’s building was closed to public entry, its services were not completely shut down.

One of the services the library has been offering since the beginning of July has been a contactless holds pickup, allowing people to order books online and then just come to the library to pick them up with an appointment.

Head Librarian, Donna Thiessen said contactless pickup service remains an option for those who would prefer to use it.

“We felt, for people who may not yet be comfortable coming into the library, we should continue to offer the service,” she said. “So we’ll continue to carry that service probably for the next month or so.”

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Those who do return to use the library’s services will likely notice a few changes upon reentry into the establishment.

Much of the furniture within the main area has been moved out for the time being, with patrons being asked to try to restrict their visits to about 30 minutes or less if possible.

Thiessen said the 30-minute time limit is not a hard cap by any means, but more of a way to ensure all are able to take advantage of the library’s resources. The library must still adhere to the government’s capacity limits within the building.

Additionally, there is now also a designated area where all books that are dropped off or touched, that cannot be directly cleaned, will be placed to ‘quarantine them’ for 72 hours. Following the three-day hold, they can then be placed back on the shelf.

At the end of the day, Thiessen said it is all about ensuring the health and safety of all remains the top priority.

“The most important things are that the staff has to feel safe when their doing their work and interacting with the public, and the public needs to feel safe coming into the library,” she said. “If there is anything people feel is amiss or that they might be concerned about, I hope they would share that with us and we’ll do our best to address it.”

For more information on the library’s hours of service, resources or programing, residents are asked to call the library directly or visit their website.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1