Portage library set to reopen July 7

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/07/2020 (2017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s another page-turning moment in a novel period of library history.

The Portage la Prairie Regional Library is slated to reopen its doors to the public on Tuesday, July 7 at 10 a.m.

The library will operate with reduced hours on Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., remaining closed in the evenings for now.

Head librarian Richard Bee said they’ve been working towards reopening for the last few weeks.

“There is a lot of anxiety, especially with the uncertainty of COVID-19,” he said.

“I think it’s important for us to get back into some sort of regular schedule. Whether or not it’s temporary or extended, I think the regular schedule will be good for everybody.”
Patrons will notice several changes when they arrive at the Portage library.

“Our front counter is the first thing people will notice. We’ve had some Plexiglas installed for our front counter space,” Bee said.

“We’re also going to be getting some gates installed at our front counter, just to make it a little more secure for staff and to prevent the occasional person from walking back behind our front counter. Our staff are wearing cloth masks all the time at work because we have staff with compromised immune systems.”

Pickup service will continue to be available by appointment for anyone who might not feel comfortable entering the building.

“We’ve been offering that service since May 15. People can contact us or they can place holds through our online catalogue,” Bee said.

“Staff will then get the items through our collection. We’ll contact the person, book an appointment and hand off the items to them.”

The library has been quarantining all returned books for one week, and that process will continue to be in effect.

“We just got some news from a recent study by a library organization that apparently there’s no detection of the virus after three days, but we’re just going to take the precaution to have an extra week. We effectively have a one-week grace period when items get returned,” Bee added.

“You’ll get your normal loan period and you can renew items if no one has placed a hold on them. As long as the person is returning the item before the original due date, then the system includes that quarantine time, too, and there won’t be any fines attached.”

The library will also proceed with its annual book sale as planned beginning on July 7, except this year it will be subtitled “COVID Converted.”

“It will be laid out a little bit differently in our library space. Normally we can have it in front of the counter and then spread out throughout the rest of the building,” Bee said.

“This year, we’ll have it contained to one area. We’re going to have a dedicated staff member set up to handle money and answer questions about the book sale.”
Looking ahead, Bee will continue to connect with library colleagues across the province.

“We’ve been having to work out a lot of the details on our own,” he said. “We realize that we’ve got to pitch the ideas off of each other and hear what everybody else is doing to see if that works in our local context.”

For more information about the Portage la Prairie Regional Library, visit www.portagelibrary.com, email portlib@portagelibrary.com, call 204-857-4271 or check out updates on social media.