Have you seen the chart listing how risky certain activities may be for contracting the Coronavirus? Visiting your local library is listed as “low-to-moderate risk”. Well, your favorite local libraries are reopening! We all miss you.

As much as we can't wait to see you, we are still being cautious about returning back to normal. We still need you to wear a facial covering before entering. We still need you to keep social distancing measures in mind. Unfortunately, we also have additional stipulations to adhere to in order to keep the library running.

Each library will have its own set of parameters with reopening, so please be patient. One library may only allow patrons in by appointments, while another may allow walk-ins. There may be other stipulations including time limits and the availability of different services including computer use.

Please check with your local library to see exactly what it is offering and what times are available to visit the library. For example in Livingston Manor, we will be open to the public from 10-2 during the week, and we will continue offering curbside pickup during the day and until 4 p.m. if you are uncomfortable coming in. These are still strange new times to all of us, so if you are hesitant to enter the building we understand.

Also in Manor, we will be limiting the number of people in at one time with a 30 minute time limit. Plus, as we had done prior to closing due to the pandemic, we will regularly be sanitizing doorknobs, computer keyboards and other regularly touched surfaces, some even after each use. The staff will also be wearing masks and gloves as well as doing our best to maintain the six foot guideline between us and you. We also continue to urge you to stay home if you are not feeling well.

Maybe it was just me, but it seemed once things started changing due to the Coronavirus, everyone was nicer to each other. We strongly urge you to keep that community mindset. We are happy to be open but we do not want to put you or the community at risk.

As much as we all want to return back to normal, we are still living in a pandemic as well as living with quarantine guidelines enforced by state government.

We would love to see children taking over the children's room, playing and interacting with each other during story time, but we will continue to do our part to keep the community safe by offering story time online. We strongly urge you to stay safe as you visit your library.