East Baton Rouge Parish Library announces plans for Phase 2 of reopening

EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, La. (WAFB) - The following information was provided by the East Baton Rouge Parish Library.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library will move into Phase 2 of its phased reopening process starting Monday, June 1.

“Although we were pleased to offer digital services over the past weeks, and then to expand access on May 20 with call ahead/pickup services and more extensive phone and online reference help, we are now ready to increase access by opening significant portions of the public service spaces in our buildings. We have successfully completed our first phase of preparations, which included reconfiguring furnishings, establishing appropriate social distancing provisions, and accepting and quarantining a large influx of returned library items. We also have secured sufficient special supplies and materials to help maintain an elevated level of preventive intervention. As the details of this phase of our reopening explain below, there are some changes and new procedures that will be necessary with the use of library public spaces. We appreciate that this will require a certain level of adjustment, but we hope that everyone can work with us to make their library experience as safe and rewarding as possible”, said Library Director Spencer Watts.

ONE-STOP-SHOP: Press conferences, stats, links related to COVID-19

In Phase 2 of the library’s reopening plan, the following services will be available to patrons:

Libraries open doors to the public to provide use of PCs, WiFi, and fresh checkouts of material

Library locations will open to the public from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. through 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m. through 6 p.m. on Sunday.

The new River Center Branch will open later in June; its opening date has been pushed back due to delays in furniture and equipment installation.

Telephone assistance is available as usual at all 14 locations during these hours.

As required by the city-parish, all patrons entering library buildings must wear a face mask or other personal protective equipment (PPE)
Because of the need to increase distance between workstations, a reduced number of Public PCs will be available on a “reservations” basis
Please call the Reference Desk at your desired location to make a reservation
Reservations for slots during the first hour the Library is opened may be placed the day before
Headphones will not be available; please bring your own
Keyboard and mice will be cleaned after each use
Public PCs will be available until 15 minutes before closing
Printing, copying, and faxing will be available
Computers and WiFi are temporarily unavailable at the Delmont Gardens Branch due to connectivity issues
WiFi will be available inside and outside from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. at all 14 locations

Seating will be limited; physical distance will be maintained between seating, tables, and computers

Protective Measures:

Acrylic sneeze guards will be placed at service desks and visual reminders related to social distancing will be in use at each location
Hand sanitizer will be available at each location
PPE will be in use by staff at each location; masks are mandatory
Expanded cleaning protocols and an accelerated schedule for disinfecting and deep cleaning at each location
The Library collection will be considered “Closed Stacks” during this time period; this protective measure will help prevent exposure to the virus
Patrons may call ahead to locate materials, or reserve items as usual.
Patrons who come in person will need to request materials directly from Library staff. Library staff will then search the shelves for desired books or AV materials and bring them directly to patrons to minimize contact
Patrons will be able to check out their materials via Self Check Kiosks at all locations or receive assistance at Circulation Services
Call Ahead/ Drive Through/ Pick Up Service will continue at all locations, so that patrons who want to minimize contact may do so
Library materials may be returned to any location; items that are trapped to fulfill Reservations will be quarantined for 72 hours before becoming available to the patron who is “on Hold”
We encourage reserving the first hour of service for seniors and those with compromised immune systems; please consider arriving at or after 10 a.m. if you are not in that category
Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult or care-taker
We will monitor occupancy of the library and as necessary, limit the number of patrons who may be inside at any given time; occupancy limits will need to be strictly enforced
We will not accept money other than through the usual online credit card service

A detailed Phase Plan is available digitally in the June edition of the Library’s The Source monthly newsletter at https://www.ebrpl.com/Source/Source202006.pdf.

If you would like to receive promotional email correspondence from the Library, send a request to Assistant Library Director Mary Stein at mstein@ebrpl.com.

To find information on the coronavirus (COVID-19), visit the InfoGuide at http://ebrpl.libguides.com/coronavirus. More about the Library and any of its free programs, events and resources can be found online at www.ebrpl.com.

Click here to report a typo.