Morrisville Public Library News
by Michelle A. Rounds
Library Manager
September 30, 2020
Starting Monday October 5, things will be changing again at the library! On Monday, Wednesday and Fridays you can now come in from 4pm-7pm for our Grab-n-Go service! You can stop in without an appointment and get the materials you desire! The door will be open! (But, you must follow the rules below).
We are ONLY allowing 7 people to be in the building at a time. If the door to the main library is closed in the foyer, please wait there for your turn. Face coverings ARE required for all patrons. (If you cannot wear a face covering, please make a no contact pick up appointment.) Hand sanitizer MUST be used upon entering the building. Social distance guidelines must be followed at all times. Bathrooms are not available to the public. All public seating has been removed as you are to get your materials and go, no reading the paper, etc. or socializing at this time. We are asking that patrons leave the building in a timely manner.
Not ready to come back into the library? Like us pulling your materials for you? Like having the library all to yourself? Tuesday and Thursday from 12-6pm is still our no contact pick up appointments as well as our 15 minute browsing appointments! Continue to call, email, etc. for an appointment!
Don’t think you have to do one service and not the others (i.e. – grab-n-go, no contact pick up or a browser appt). Mix and match, as we are here for you!
Computer appointments remain unchanged; 30 minutes only and you must make an appointment. Though, if you come in from 4-7pm on M/W/F and our only public computer is open, you can request to use it for 30 minutes. The computer is cleaned and disinfected after each use.
Access to the program room and the historic part of the library is restricted to staff only. We are not offering meeting/study space or in house programming until at least spring of 2021. We do have some great virtual programs coming up, so please check our website for more details.
The library will be closed on Monday October 12, to observe Columbus Day. We will reopen on Tuesday October 13 for browsing and no contact pick up appts. at 12pm. Stay safe!
September 16, 2020
So as I sit here and think, I need to write something here for our library readers….I could seriously send in last week’s musings as nothing has changed. We are open for no contact pickups and browsing, computer, notary faxes, prints and copy appointments….but nothing is new at Morrisville Public Library. We are stuck in our new normal, masked and ready to serve you!
Honestly though, a lot has changed. If you make an inside appointment, you and I or you and Ben will be the only ones in the building. There are no seating areas for patrons to sit and relax. No programming or public restrooms. Everything you touch must be cleaned after. We all have to wear a mask and use hand sanitizer upon entering and exiting the building. Staff have a daily health screening complete with temperature checks. We have MERV-13 filters in our HVAC unit to help prevent the spread of respiratory droplets as well as have opened the windows in the new section of the library. All, to keep us, staff and patrons alike, as safe as possible.
We are getting the question, why aren’t you open like other libraries? Why aren’t we? (Technically we are, see above). At this time, we do not feel that we have the need to hire back any more staff. Our appointments and times we are open are not full so we do not need additional time slots yet. Ben does evenings and I do the days. It’s working for us and we are trying to limit as many people handling materials as we can to keep things as safe for our patrons as possible. On that note, it’s just Ben and I. So if one of us succumbs to the virus, we will have to close. Doing appointments where there is just one person and a staff member in the building, limits the exposure should the virus make its way into the library.
And, the other reason, our library budget for next year did not pass in June. We have been told some of our other funding sources for this fiscal year are being decreased and no one has any idea what the library will receive for funding next year. We cannot do any fundraising this year in house (so no book sales, silent auction etc.) due to the pandemic so we are “tightening the purse strings” more than ever. When no one except a staff member is in the building, most of the lights are off. The heat/AC is turned way down or off. We are not using the front of the library so that area has been closed off to save on utilities. We have cancelled the newspapers and soon will be cancelling most, if not all, of our magazine subscriptions as they have just gotten too expensive and do not circulate enough.
So that’s why we are not open like “normal” with our other member libraries. We are doing the best we can with the hand we were dealt. And the patrons who have been using the library since we reopened in June have been amazing, very cooperative, kind and appreciative. We thank you and despite the grim outlook, we will continue to do the best we can with the little we have. Until next week…. Stay safe!
September 2, 2020
Our new hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday 4pm-7pm and Tuesday and Thursday 12pm-6pm! What can you do during our open hours? See below!
You will now be able to continue our NO CONTACT PICK UP HOURS during this time (just like you are used to). Check out our website: morrisvillepubliclibrary.org for all the info!
You can now make a BROWSING APPOINTMENT (a 15 min. appt. to come in and get your own materials, FACE COVERING REQUIRED, only 2 people per household allowed, no exceptions on time limits or allowable people, will not allow people in early either so please show up on time). Knock on the door when you arrive and when it’s your time, we will let you in!
You can now make a 30 min appointment to use a computer (once per day and no time extensions). FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED THE ENTIRE VISIT.
You can make an inside appointment for our fax, copies and print services as well as purchase Madison County landfill punch cards and for the notary. FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED. (Outside service is still an option for anyone wishing to do so.)
PLEASE NOTE: The outside book drop is still closed. We have a plastic bin outside the main entrance door M/W/F 4pm-7pm and T/TH 12pm-6pm for returns. Patrons do not need an appointment to drop materials off during these times.
How can you do all this? You can either call us (315-684-9130) or email us at morrisville@midyork.org to reserve a time for any and all of these services. (If you have been FB messaging the library or the Library Manager’s personal account, please note these will not be checked anymore nights and weekends so calling or emailing the library is best if you want faster results.)
Check out our video of what to expect inside the library as A LOT has changed! It’s on our Facebook Page. And if you call evenings, you will hear a familiar voice, Ben is back!
We will be closed on Monday September 7 to observe Labor Day. We will be open for all of the above on Tuesday September 8 at noon!
