Posted on 11 June 2020 by Ken.
We are planning a limited reopening of the Medicine Hat Public Library on Monday, July 6 as allowed under Phase 2 of the Alberta Government’s Relaunch Strategy.
The Library is following Phase 2 guidelines as well as other guidelines and best practices from the provincial government, the public library community, and the City of Medicine Hat. Like other libraries and the municipality, MHPL is prioritizing safety.
We are excited by the prospect of reopening and we can’t wait to welcome our community back into our building. We are also very concerned about safety and we want to deliver service in ways that don’t create risks for our staff or the public. It is important to balance the need for service with the need to be safe. We have work to do before we can strike that balance successfully.
We need to do some work before reopening including recalling laid off workers and doing some re-configuring inside the building like removing chairs and adding things like plexiglass shields, and that takes time. We also have some upgrades happening on the building which will result in the loss of electricity for a couple of days near the end of this month. With those factors in mind, and also considering how other libraries and the City are approaching relaunch, we decided it would be best to invite the public back into the building on July 6th.
Library service will look a little different when those automatic doors slide back open. We will start by offering what I call a grocery store style service. We will be open for materials browsing and checkout; Internet access and other services will be added back as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.
In the meantime, the Library already offers a no-contact pick-up service as well as electronic resources such as eBooks, online learning, and virtual programs. Take a look at our PSA: Reading Not Cancelled blog post for all those details.