The Penticton Public Library has reopened after being closed for nearly five months due to COVID-19.
Chief librarian, Heather Buzzell said she is thrilled to once again be serving the public.
“We are very happy to be back,” she said.
The library opened its doors to the public Tuesday, Aug. 4 for the first time since closing March.
The building will be open with limited hours from Tuesday to Saturday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Since reopening, the library has already seen a decent amount of use. The library saw about 90 people through its doors in the first hour of opening and has since seen a “steady stream” of patrons, said, Buzzell.
“It’s never so much that we have people waiting in the lobby but it’s definitely sort of a constant stream,” she said.
To help maintain social distancing, the library has set capacity at 30 people and tape has been applied to the floor to guide people through the stacks in one direction only. There is also now a library employee outside to keep track of how many people enter the building, similar to grocery stores.
The library has also reduced the number of computers and rearranged eating to ensure people are distanced from each other. Some seating, computers and one of the circulation desks have been removed.
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jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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