Library staff wearing masks install new shelving at the Central Library to improve social distancing in the facility.
As Colorado and our Mesa County community shift to a “safer-at-home” strategy, we want to update our patrons on the status of library services.
This week (the week of April 27), some library staff have returned to our facilities to work on plans for resuming certain library services. Some of the most important new developments are:
- Book drops are now open, and we are accepting returns.
- The library call center is being staffed from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and is available to help patrons with eResources and to answer questions. You can reach the call center at 970-243-4442.
- Due dates on all materials are extended to June 1. We also will keep holds for pick-up until June 1.
- We plan to start offering curbside pick-up of materials in the near future for patrons who have holds waiting. Those patrons will be contacted soon by email with specific information about how to pick up their holds.
- Library buildings remain closed to public access until further notice.
- Further reopening of the libraries beyond curbside pick-ups will take place on a limited basis on a yet-undetermined timeline. We are working with Mesa County Public Health on plans to ensure maximum protection for patrons and staff. We currently are making physical modifications to some library facilities to enable greater social distancing for protection of library visitors and staff.
- The library’s digital offerings, such as ebooks through OverDrive and online programming on Facebook and YouTube, proved popular during the stay-at-home order, and they continue to be available. We encourage you to check them out!
- We are planning an online Summer Reading experience this year, complete with reading goals, online entertainment, and many other fun elements. Sign-ups for Summer Reading begin Monday, June 1. Watch for more information!
Finally, we wish to thank our patrons and all Mesa County residents for your patience and support during this unusual time. We are all in this together, and together we can move through this crisis step by step.
Please stay tuned to our library blog, social media, or the library email newsletter for the latest information about Mesa County Libraries during the coronavirus crisis.
Stay well.
A staff member removes a “Closed” sign from a library book drop as Mesa County Libraries begin accepting book returns again.
Book drops at Mesa County Libraries have reopened.
When will you start accepting Holds on materials?
We expect to start accepting holds May 8.
So glad to hear this valuable community resource is beginning to re-open. So many wonderful folks there make this library home to all of us.
We hope you and your families are safe and well.
We missed you. Welcome back!
Thanks, Rick!
Librarians and staff are readers and thinkers (whose contributions are greatly appreciated). The incredible overreaction to a virus with a fatality rate perhaps one-fourth of the seasonal flu should prompt libraries and patrons to move for much greater protection of our civil liberties, purportedly protected by our Constitution.
Hi, Casey. During the pandemic, our library procedures are developed in consultation with Mesa County Public Health in an effort to protect some of the more vulnerable populations in our community, many of whom are regular library patrons. We are happy to be in the process of reopening the library, which we will continue to do in measured steps as circumstances allow.
Please reopen library on a limited basis. No sitting in library. Open on a 50% capacity basis. Check in/check out materials only. Remember county commissioners who pushed for reopening Mesa County. Need this valuable asset for residents to open.
Hi, James. We’re working on a plan for reopening, but many details remain to be determined. We do know that any reopening of library facilities will take place on a limited basis on a yet-undetermined timeline. We’re working with Mesa County Public Health on plans to ensure maximum protection for patrons and staff, and we’re currently making physical modifications to some library facilities to enable greater social distancing for protection of library visitors and staff. In the meantime, you can find many library resources such as ebooks and e-Audiobooks on our website. We appreciate the patience of our patrons and the community.