All 20 branches of the St. Louis County Library (SLCL) will offer curbside, contact-free service beginning Wednesday, June 3. This means patrons can reserve and pick up books, movies and other resources while abiding by social distancing guidelines.
Despite restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on public institutions such as libraries, SLCL director Kristen Sorth tells Gazelle magazine the staff has been working hard to provide access to resources.
“The biggest challenge is keeping our employees and patrons safe as we make plans to reopen,” Sorth said, noting that books returned by patrons will be quarantined for 72 hours before they are handled by library employees, or made available for curbside checkout by others. “We are ready to safely provide access to materials by setting up curbside delivery of books starting on June 3. Our experience with offering meals and other resources during closure was helpful in determining how to provide touchless access to library materials. We are developing plans to provide computer and browsing access to patrons inside of our buildings. We are carefully determining how to do so, while keeping everyone safe.”
Since stay-at-home orders went into effect throughout St. Louis County in late March, the St. Louis County Library shifted its focus to providing online library resources which included eBooks, eMagazines, online training, and virtual author events and storytimes, as well as stepped up its efforts to distribute essential items like food and diapers to residents in need, according to Sorth.
“Even though our buildings were closed, we worked with our trusted community partners to use St. Louis County Library facilities as a place where the community could come to access basic needs during this health and economic crisis,” she explained. “We delivered drive-thru meals, diapers, period supplies, fresh produce and brand new books curbside. We also know that many people use the library for our free Wi-Fi. We kept our Wi-Fi on 24 hours a day and boosted the signal at our branches so it could be reached from all areas of our parking lots.”
Starting Wednesday, curbside hours for all SLCL locations are Monday through Thursday, 1 to 6 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m.
To place a hold on a book or any other item, call your branch, visit slcl.org or use the SLCL mobile app. You will need your library card information to put items on hold. The library will notify patrons via email with instructions on how to pick up their holds using curbside service.
Book drops at all SLCL locations reopened last week. allowing users to return items such as books, movies and CDs to the book drops. However, the library is still asking patrons to keep items that can only be returned at the desk until further notice. These include bulkier items like musical instruments, puzzles, telescopes, Sci-finders kits, binoculars and others. Due dates on materials checked out prior to closure have been extended through June 30.
Visit slcl.org/covid-updates for additional information about book drops and curbside services.
