(Angie Rolheiser/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

Curbside library services

Wapiti Regional Library to offer curbside pickup services

Jun 8, 2020 | 11:00 AM

Readers in the region will have more options to access resources.

Wapiti Regional Library is to offer curbside pickups in a number of local communities, starting June 15.

Branch libraries were closed March 20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and patrons have only been able to access books and other resources online.

The provincial government’s Re-open Saskatchewan Plan shows library branch re-openings will not take place until Phase 4.

“We are able to, still following current guidelines and protocols from the government, begin offering a no-contact service and a service that doesn’t require patrons to actually enter the library, but will allow us to get library materials into their hands,” Community Services Librarian Lindsay Baker told northeastNOW.

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She said they are basing their curbside pickup on similar programs offered by libraries in the United States, and that Wapiti will take the best practices to design their own system.

Patrons will be able to place a hold on items owned by a curbside pickup location. The library will notify patrons when the material is ready, and a pickup time can be scheduled. The items are picked up from a designated table, and patrons can have the materials for four weeks at a time.

Baker said the branches will be following cleaning protocols laid out for businesses and retailers by the provincial government.

“Things like not sharing work stations, regular cleaning, using only verified disinfectants for cleaning, making sure that materials sit in a quarantine for 72 hours after being returned, and staff disinfecting and washing thoroughly before handling any items to give to patrons,” Baker said.

She said the curbside pickup will benefit the residents in the region who choose not to, or cannot, access materials online.

“Unfortunately in rural Saskatchewan sometimes the Internet isn’t that reliable, so some patrons really do rely on the physical items,” Baker explained.

Curbside pickup will be offered June 15 at Wapiti’s Hudson Bay, Humboldt, Melfort, Nipawin, Shellbrook, Spiritwood, and Tisdale branches.

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cam.lee@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @camlee1974