By WECT Staff | May 26, 2020 at 8:19 PM EDT – Updated May 27 at 3:49 AM
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – Starting Tuesday, all libraries across New Hanover County are offering curbside service for residents.
Supervising librarian for New Hanover County Patricia Dew says the curbside service will look a lot different for patrons.
“Any books they place on hold will be taken off the shelf by library staff. The patrons will get an automated notification that their materials are ready and they come and pick it up,” Dew said.
Library staff will set materials on a table that patrons can grab, without coming in contact with anyone.
“It keeps staff safe and it keeps our patrons safe. It’s a way for us to get materials in the hands of our patrons without having people wander the building; it’s just not currently a situation where we can allow that,” said Dew. “We are moving toward that, we hope, soon. We don’t know exactly when that day will be. Until that time, curbside is a nice compromise.”
Dew says it was challenging to convert solely to a curbside service.
“We completely changed our service model virtually overnight because we went from a full-service library to a curbside library practically overnight. So, it was very challenging to staff but we have an amazing staff of librarians and library assistants and associates that made it happen.”
Library staff printed signs, came up with protocols and sourced gloves, masks and Clorox wipes to keep everyone safe.
Each library’s curbside service will look different depending on the layout of the library’s parking lot.
The service is available Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
You can call the library to reserve items, or you can do so online by clicking here.
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