Name: San Diego city libraries to open for in-person services after 6 months of closure
Brand: sandiegouniontribune.com
SKU: sandiegouniontribune-com-127
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

San Diego city libraries to open for in-person services after 6 months of closure

preview

Copyright © 2022, The San Diego Union-Tribune | | AdvertisementAdvertisement A dozen of San Diego’s city libraries are reopening for indoor services this weekend, opening doors to patrons after more than six months of closure.In-person services won’t be exactly the same as pre-COVID-19 days, however. The libraries are allowing computer use, printing, book pickups and some in-person help from libraries to find titles. They’re also expanding outdoor space at several library locations, and renting out plastic-coated laptops so people can work or do distance learning outdoors. AdvertisementBut patrons can’t peruse the stacks alone, nor can they use study rooms, labs or any meeting spaces. “We want to start small for now,” said Joe Miesner, a supervising librarian at San Diego Public Library. “We don’t want to have to go backwards.”The city libraries are being cautious in more ways than one. When the State of California announced in late August, San Diego County fell in the red tier. For the past month, libraries in this tier have been allowed to open throughout California at 50 percent capacity. The local county libraries . The city’s 36 libraries, however, remained closed, with their websites noting outdated state guidance as the reason for halted services.When the Union-Tribune inquired about their continued closure, the city of San Diego said a phased reopening plan was in the works. “Our libraries offer San Diegans a treasure trove of resources, whether its access to health information, distance learning, job searching or even just a book to pass the time, and we need them now more than ever,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer in a statement. “We’re reopening our libraries with health and safety as the top priority while also expanding digital access to give residents more opportunities as we get through this pandemic together.”Starting Saturday, 12 city libraries will open for limited indoor services, but only at 25 percent capacity. This, again, is more modest than current state guidance allows for the red tier regions. The conservative approach, however, prevents the city libraries from going through yo-yo state-mandated guidance. Libraries in the most restrictive purple tier must limit capacity to 25 percent, under the state’s rules. And San Diego County may very well in the coming weeks, should case numbers trigger the state’s switch. The 12 libraries reopening Saturday include the downtown Central location, along with Carmel Valley, Point Loma, Mission Valley, Rancho Bernardo, Malcolm X/Valencia Park, Mira Mesa, Logan Heights, San Ysidro, La Jolla, Mission Hills-Hillcrest, and College-Rolando.For now, four San Diego locations — Central, San Ysidro, Skyline Hills, and Malcolm X/Valencia Park — are offering a new program called Access4All, which offers free Wi-Fi and rentable laptops for their outdoor patios. The library workers were not furloughed during the pandemic months, but instead reassigned to other city departments that needed staff. These workers are returning to reopening branches as needed. Librarian Miesner said this limited reopening is the second phase of a multi-phase plan at the city’s public libraries. The first phase was that’s been available at some library locations since the end of May. But there’s no official word on when the next phase of reopening will begin.“Our libraries have been closed since March 13 and, although we have added pickup service and virtual programming, there is no substitute for welcoming patrons into our buildings,” said Library Director Misty Jones in a statement. “While we are offering limited services when we reopen, our staff will be working diligently to expand services as quickly and safely as possible.”The 12 library locations will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. They will close daily between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. for cleaning. Face masks are required, and patrons must have their temperature taken upon arrival. Top headlines by email, weekday mornings Get top headlines from the Union-Tribune in your inbox weekday mornings, including top news, local, sports, business, entertainment and opinion. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Show Comments Load More Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement

Copyright © 2022, The San Diego Union-Tribune | | AdvertisementAdvertisement A dozen of San Diego’s city libraries are reopening for indoor services this weekend, opening doors to patrons after more than six months of closure.In-person services won’t be exactly the same as pre-COVID-19 days, however. The libraries are allowing computer use, printing, book pickups and some in-person help from libraries to find titles. They’re also expanding outdoor space at several library locations, and renting out plastic-coated laptops so people can work or do distance learning outdoors. AdvertisementBut...

public

Brittany Meiling

The San Diego Union-Tribune, the region's leading news source since 1868. Follow our journalists, too: http://j.mp/UTstaff

San Diego city libraries to open for in-person services after 6 months of closure

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS