Ann Zydek, director of Warsaw Community Public Library, announced Monday when the library would reopen.
Hours Monday through Friday will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. There will be an hour at the beginning of each day Monday through Friday for patrons 65 and older.
Zydek said that according to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s public safety order, libraries are able to phase in their services “according to local needs, staff capacity and the community situation, so he did require there to be a plan.”
As of May 5, Zydek said she approved a plan for the library’s reopening.
According to WCPL’s “Back on Track – 5 Stages” plan, occupancy in the library will be limited to approximately 35 patrons at a time and patrons will be limited to 30 minutes of library time for each visit.
Enhanced cleaning, an employee health screening process and compliance with social distancing will be adhered to.
Sneeze guards will be placed on each service desk. Facility Supervisor Bruce Hively said the sneeze guards will be delivered to the library Wednesday.
The library closed due to safety concerns for staff and the public because of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 16, Zydek said.
“We were able to keep wifi in the parking lot going,” Zydek said. “And we found out that was the primary way in that first month the libraries were able to provide service. A few tried curbside before it got too bad.”
Once the library knew what Holcomb’s stay-at-home guideline was, Zydek said there was staff that did limited, essential work in the library, including clearing the drop-off bin and pick up mail.
During Stage 3, which was from May 24 to Saturday, the library offered curbside services.
The library will continue curbside services. Zydek said she hopes there will be a point where people come in to the circulation desk, get their stuff and leave. However, they will still be able to get curbside service.
“The curbside program is definitely an interesting program,” board President Chris Merrill said.
The library board also approved a motion not to go forward with any of the bids they received to fix its dry fire system.
During the library board’s March meeting, they approved seeking bids to fix the dry fire system in the attic.
Zydek said she wanted to hold off on the repair to see what the second half of the year held for the library financially due to the affects of the coronavirus.
However, Zydek did say if a leak develops in the system, it will have to be repaired.
“It’s a bandage approach,” she said.
