WESTLOCK - Following a surprise announcement by the provincial government last week, the Westlock Municipal Library was able to unlock its front doors Monday, March 8, with capacity capped at 17 patrons for the time being.
Library director Lisa Old said they were taken aback by the province’s March 1 announcement that libraries would be allowed to open as they were initially part of the next step of the phased reopening of the economy — health minister Tyler Shandro said libraries were picked because of the role they play in rural areas, especially where access to Internet may be limited.
Library services like photocopying, faxing and scanning are the same as before the December shutdown, Old noted, while computer users are limited to an hour and are asked to pre-book an appointment. And those looking to browse the stacks are welcomed, Old continued, although not for hours on end.
“We were originally supposed to be part of Step 3 so we weren’t even prepared to open until March 22 at the earliest … so this kind of took us by surprise. But we’re happy to be able to see our customers again,” said Old March 4.
“And it was very nice to hear the premier recognizing libraries as being a needed service and the value that we bring to the community.”
The facility will be open Monday to Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to noon, close for lunch, then reopen from 1 to 5 p.m. On Fridays their doors will be shut as they’ll be focusing on their curbside pickup program and virtual programming.
Old noted that with the ongoing renovations at the Heritage Building — the Family and Community Support Services offices are moving there this summer — there may be some days they’ll be forced to close. As well, there’s no public washrooms currently available as contractors continue their work in the south side of the building.
“I have concerns for safety, our customers' safety, as well as the safety of the staff. There’s nothing going on at the library per se, but there are workmen going in and out of the main doors and lots of stuff going on ... and the noise,” she said.
“So we’ll take it day by day and we ask that our customers look on our website, give us a call or check out our social media because our openings might change from day to day depending on what’s going on. Even today, the parking lot is filled with construction workers and we’ve got the big bin outside.”
