Haldimand County Public Library

WELCOME BACK!

Effective Monday, August 4th, branches of the Haldimand County Public Library will be open to the public to provide most services. Branches will be open during their normal hours of operation. The Dunnville and Caledonia branches will remain closed on Sundays until further notice. Patrons may now browse the library collections and a limited number of public computer stations will be available for one-hour periods.  Workstations at which visitors can connect personal devices to the library’s wireless network have also been set up. Persons wishing to use computer or wireless stations are asked to book in advance by calling their local branch and stations will be disinfected between each use.

In accordance with Provincial mandates, heavily-handled items must be placed in quarantine.  A book touched to read its cover or inside flap description does not require quarantining.  Study rooms at the Dunnville, Jarvis and Cayuga library are again accessible, with two-person limits.  Meeting rooms are being used for material quarantining and furniture storage and are unavailable for rental at this time. Although curbside pickup will no longer be the library’s primary service delivery method, it will be made available to users upon request.

Returns can be made through the library’s overnight drop boxes, which are now open at all times, or inside at special tables located near entrances.  These special return locations replace return bins normally located at service desks. All returned items are quarantined for at least 72 hours before further processing or reuse. A grace period applies to ensure no fines accumulate while items are in quarantine.  Items are checked-in only after being in quarantine.

Patrons will notice a number of safety measures when they return to visit us: plexiglass health shields at our service desks, queue markings and various social distancing signs. Rather than placing directional floor arrows amongst our shelves, we are asking that no more than one person (or one family “pod”) browse an aisle at a time. Sanitization of high-touch surfaces will be a top priority and, where facilities allow, separate entrances and exits have been designated.

Online services and download applications remain active during this phase of re-opening and patrons are encouraged to continue reserving physical items using the library’s online catalog.