Brockville Public Library reopens Tuesday with smaller footprint

The Brockville Public Library. (Nate Vandermeer / CTV News Ottawa)

BROCKVILLE, ONT. — On September 1, the Brockville Public Library will reopen to the public, but there will be some changes, with access granted only to the main floor.

Brandy Smith, the library's community engagement coordinator, took CTV News on a walkthrough Friday to show off the changes and how the community hub will keep people safe.

"We're really excited to be opening again," Smith said.

"It's going to look a lot different. The main floor is going to be open and we are kind of going to a closed stack system. We're trying to reduce contact points a lot so we're bringing books down and we're introducing a service so if you're looking for a book we'll run upstairs and get it for you while you're here and then bring it back downstairs."

Visitors will be asked to sanitize their hands when they come in, face coverings will be mandatory, and a 50 person capacity will be enforced.

Markers are on the floor to promote distancing of two metres.

While the library will look different, some features will stay the same. Curbside pickup, which gained popularity during the shutdown, will continue.

"Libraries kind of invented curbside pickup many years ago so we've always had that. We've had it for many years. You just won't have to schedule a time to pickup - you'll be able to drop in at your own time," Smith said.

"With the shutdown, we've kind of gone back to basics and back to information, (promoting) the books and the reading and the literacy," she added.

"Inter-library loans are going to be here so you can order a book from almost any library in Ontario. We're also going to have a reader advisory service," smith added, which is a service that they do regularly.

"We're just going to ramp it up a bit, so you can come to us and say, 'I like this author,' and we'll say, 'Okay great, here are 10 other authors just like that.' Or, if you say. 'This is my favourite book ever,' we'll say, 'here's 10 more books that are going to read like that.'"

The library will not be hosting community activities like children's ECE learning or adult programs.

The computer lab will be open for printing, faxing and scanning, but e-coordinator Scott Newman says there will be fewer computers available.

"We used to have 12 or 13 computers upstairs, fairly closely spaced. We've moved down to this event room and we've got four computers here and they are all spaced out so that people are a safe distance apart," Newman said. "After they've been used once, the next people in, we'll give them a Lysol wipe and they are responsible for wiping down the keyboard and the mouse and the desktop," he added.

Staff members are also looking forward to reconnect with familiar faces.

"A lot of our customers, they come here for the sense of community because they know us, they know the staff, so it's making those connections again. We're all excited," said Smith.

The library will be open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The city also announced the reopening of city hall and the Gord Watts Municipal Centre to the public without an appointment, on Tues., Sept. 8.