THE Mount Gambier Library will begin a limited re-opening next week, giving 10 residents at any one time a 30-minute window to visit the facility.
It follows the Federal Government easing restrictions last week, which allowed the re-opening of local government libraries from May 11.
The facilities are still limited to 10 patrons – including staff – at a time and Mount Gambier City Council has planned a staged response to give residents access to more library services from Monday next week.
The initial stage of the re-opening will see hours reduced to 10am to 2pm on Monday to Friday and the provision of limited services as visits will be limited to 30 minutes.
“We are excited to announce the City of Mount Gambier is planning a staged reopening of the library to our community,” library manager Georgina Davison said.
“Our focus is on ensuring everyone remains safe and healthy as we slowly and carefully reintroduce services.
“We will continue to monitor the circumstances and government guidelines as we progress our reopening with an aim to be fully operational as soon as it is safe to do so,” Ms Davison said.
To help with the density requirements, programming will continue to be delivered online for the foreseeable future.
“We are required to ensure physical distancing is adhered to, maintain attendance records, encourage good hygiene and entry and exit points will be strictly monitored to ensure we do not exceed capacity, Ms Davison said.
However patrons will be able to select and borrow resources with staff available to help with photocopying and other Information Technology services, while computer use will remain off limits.
The click and collect option will still be available from the Bookmark Café for patrons who do not wish to enter the library.
“We thank the community for their patience as we continue to monitor the situation and phase our reopening,” Ms Davison said.
“Please ensure if you are unwell you do not visit us, please call and we can make alternative arrangements for you.
“It’s only together we can achieve this by making sure we monitor and adjust to adapt to what our new normal will be.”
