News

Read On: official reopening

May 12, 2020

The Pryor Library is officially reopening our doors to the public this week. I have a lot of thoughts about reopening and oscillate between feelings of anxiety and trepidation and hope with a hint of glee.

I feel like our plan to ease into reopening under the guidance of the Governor, the Health Department, and the CDC is a good one. This week, we will limit the number of people in the building to a total of 11 (but with specified numbers for each area) and require appointments for computer and copier use. 

We’re asking everyone to enter the building through the East parking lot doors. There will be a staff member stationed there who can answer questions and let everyone know what to expect when you get inside. We are not requiring patrons to wear masks, but we do encourage it. 

You can return materials to our outside drop box or to the staff person at the door. All materials will be wiped down with a bleach solution and quarantined for 3-4 days before being reshelved or checked back out. We need the meeting room to do this, so we have to cancel all meetings and events (including the summer events) that would have been held in the meeting room.

There is compelling evidence that staying inside a public place for prolonged periods of time with others who may be infected increases the risk of contracting the virus (even with physical distancing and masks), so we will encourage everyone to make their library trips as quick as possible and not to linger. 

We have worked hard to make the library fun and inviting, so limiting access to the building in this way is rough on your library staff. We are confident this is temporary and we’ll be back to our normal shenanigans soon. 

We can’t wait to see your faces (possibly in masks), we just can’t see them for very long yet.