Peninsula libraries reopen for ‘Grab and Go’ services

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 3, 2021

The soft opening came as a surprise to some patrons, and a bit of an experiment for staff.

Nearly a year after they were shut down, North Olympic Library System branches offered a kind of “test run” of re-openings across the North Olympic peninsula last week, with regular hours being scheduled for openings this week.

“It’s been a saga, a journey, here we are a year later,” library director Noah Glaude told NOLS’s board of trustees last week.

“We’ll be able to have people back in the building — at least, to browse.”

Called a Grab and Go service, libraries are open 2-6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays in Sequim, Port Angeles and Forks, while Clallam Bay will be open 2-6 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Fridays.

Patrons are allowed 15 minutes — hence the “grab and go” — and the number of people inside will be limited to 25 percent capacity. Masks are required to enter.

“People will not be able to come in and hang out for a while,” Glaude said.

The library system rolled out the plan with a few hours of “Grab and Go” at branches on Feb. 25.

Board trustee Ian Miller was one of the unsuspecting patrons able to use the service last week.

“There was a great deal of distress I only checked out only one book,” Miller joked.

“We want to get those books out the door; that is our primary goal,” Glaude said.

“(We had) a lot of positive reactions; you could see people smiling behind their masks.”

The plan, Glaude said, is to start small with the “Grab and Go” and then increase services in time.

“We are preceding cautiously and (will) add services as we can and add hours as we can,” he said.

The staggered hours, Glaude said are primarily draw to get staff used to patrons being back in buildings.

“It’s all hands on board during those hours,” he said.

Curbside services (hold pick-ups, etc.) will continue, he noted, for those not yet comfortable with entering the library buildings. The library system will continue to offer laptop checkouts and printing with its curbside services.

Providing both curbside and in-library service is a bit of a challenge at the Sequim branch because of the entrance layout, Sequim Library branch manager Emily Sly said. Those who prefer curbside pickup during Grab and Go hours on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings, are encouraged to plan on allowing extra time.

The best time for curbside pickup in Sequim, Sly said, is during curbside-only hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursdays, and 1-4 p.m. on Saturdays.

Library officials said NOLS patrons have made 55,000 curbside visits since June.

“This is not the new normal yet,” Glaude said.

The library also offers Outreach to the Homebound, a program that delivers books, DVDs, audiobooks and other library materials to those unable to come to the library because of physical or health considerations or disability/disabilities; 360-417-8500, x7708 or visit nols.org/homebound-people.

The NOLS director said he anticipates branches offering 30-minute computer sessions within a couple of weeks. But because of physical/social distancing, that means fewer computers will be available at each location.

In Sequim, that likely means just three computer stations will be available, and about seven in Port Angeles.

“Anything is better than nothing,” Glaude said. “Sequim, that small facility is difficult to work in during these times.”

Additional programming likely won’t be back for a while, Glaude said, nor will access to most NOLS meetings rooms which are being used to house items for curbside services.

However, he said, some outdoor programming may resume during the summer months.

“It’s going to be slow and steady, but we’ll get there,” Glaude said.

For more about the North Olympic Library System’s services or COVID-19 response, see nols.org/covid-19, call 360-417-8500, or email to discover@nols.org.