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Date: 3/10/2021
SOUTHWICK – After Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced new guidance that would increase capacity limits for businesses beginning on March 1, the Southwick Public Library removed its requirement to make an appointment before visiting.
Southwick Public Library Director Lynn Blair said she reached out to the Board of Health about removing appointments because of changes to capacity guidelines in Massachusetts.
“We figured because Baker moved to Phase 3 Step 2 yesterday, so our capacity will be 50 percent. I talked to our Board of Health and we decided it was time to go ahead and open without appointments because our 50 percent capacity is very high,” she said.
Based on the first day, Blair said she is hopeful more people will come visit the library.
“Yesterday was the first day we did it and we were busier than we have been in a while, which was great to see. We had some families come in and saw a lot more people than when we had appointments,” she said.
By not requiring appointments, Blair said it is more convenient for people to come to the library on a drop-in basis.
“I think not having appointments and just being open is much more convenient for people. It was great to see so many people yesterday, so we are looking forward to what’s to come,” she said.
In terms of cleaning and social distancing, Blair said the library will continue to uphold the same standards since the pandemic began.
“We are still going to social distance and we are still doing our full run of sanitization, so nothing is going to change. Our main priority is safety, so we are going to keep up what we have been doing,” she said.
While the library is open without appointments, Blair said any classes or meetings will still take place virtually.
“We’re still using our meeting room for quarantining materials when they are returned, and we are still storing some furniture in there so we can have all our furniture on the floor and social distanced. So, at this time we are still not ready for in-person meetings or programs, but we are hoping to reevaluate that in late spring,” she said.
Blair added that removing the appointment requirement was just the first step in starting to move forward.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction that we are moving forward. We decided we think it’s time to go ahead and see if we can open a little bit further. If yesterday is a predictor of what is to come, we think it went very well,” she said.
For anyone hesitant to come into the library, Blair said the curbside pickup options are still available.