The Moose Jaw Public Library has announced that it will be opening its doors to limited in-person visits from patrons beginning Aug. 10, as the next step in the reopening plan.
A number of restrictions will be in place, according to the MJPL’s website, but patrons will be allowed to enter the building for the first time since doors closed in March to check out items from the library’s collection.
“It definitely feels good [to open] but it’s not without its worries,” said acting assistant librarian Carolyn Graham. “It will be limited access, so we’re hoping everybody will be happy with that rather than unhappy that they can’t browse the stacks and spend hours there.”
In-person visitors will be able to browse a small collection of new and popular materials available to loan, but physical access to the full collection will be limited. Instead, patrons can request help from library staff to place holds or find items of interest elsewhere in the building.
Patrons will be asked to undergo health screening upon entry to the building, and masks will be mandatory to visit the library in person, which MJPL will provide to those who don’t have a mask.
Appointments aren’t necessary, said Graham, but there will be a limit on how many people can be in the library at one time, to help maintain proper physical distancing protocols.
The curbside pickup program will also still continue by appointment, and patrons will now have the option to collect their loaned items inside the building rather than outside.
All of the MJPL’s online programming will also continue as normal, and online resources will remain available, including online programming and the summer reading challenges.
Staff can still be contacted by phone, email, through Facebook, and using the chat feature on the MJPL’s website.
At this stage in the reopening plan, access to the archives, computers, and the entire collection inside the building will not be available, and patrons will not be able to stay in the library to study.
The MJPL’s hours will also be changing for in-person visits. The building will be open only in the afternoons from Monday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The library will remain closed on Sundays.
Further expansion of services at the MJPL will be implemented slowly, said Graham, as the reopening plan continues.
“We’ve been planning this for a while,” said Graham. “We’re kind of reinventing library service every step of the way, and hopefully we’ll find our way back to the way it was before we closed in March.”
Graham shared that the next step in the plan to expand available services may be opening access to the library’s computers, as staff know they are an important resource for many patrons.
Other branches within the Palliser Regional Library began offering in-person visits by appointment as far back as July 20, depending on the branch’s individual needs.
