Central Rappahannock Regional Library will open branches to the public for 45-minute appointments starting Monday, October 12.
The new Library Express service is aimed at expanding branch access while prioritizing customer and staff safety. Customers will be able to make appointments to browse the collection; check out materials; use computers to print, copy, scan, and fax; and checkout materials. Beginning Monday, October 12, customers will also be able to return items to the library book drops.
Masks covering face and nose, and temperature checks will be required, and staff will wear gloves when handling materials. Appointments are limited to 45 minutes, and everyone will be asked to maintain 6 feet of physical distance. For everyone’s safety, customers should not visit a branch if they have a fever, symptoms of coronavirus, or known exposure to a coronavirus case in the preceding 14 days.
Customers will be able to schedule a visit beginning Saturday, October 10 at librarypoint.org/express or by phone starting Monday, October 12.
The reopening comes as the Stafford County Board of Supervisors is set to appropriate $67,000 of federal CARES Act funding to the library to help offset expenses due to the coronavirus in 2020 and 2021. Supervisors will take up the discussion at its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020.
Last month, Stafford Board of Supervisors Chair Meg Bohmke, who also serves in the library’s Board of Directors, asked why the Central Rappahannock library system had not reopened sooner. In neighboring Prince William County, libraries reopened to the public for limited use in July.
Stafford County taxpayers fund the regional library system to the tune of $5.3 million per year, making the county the largest funding source for the system. With that money, the county could opt to operate its own library system, Bohmke told PLN.
Stafford County has three public libraries that are included in the Central Rappahannock system, to include the Porter Branch at 2001 Parkway Boulevard, the Howell Branch at 806 Lyons Boulevard, and the Fried Center inside Germanna Community College at 124 Old Potomac Church Road.
The system includes also includes Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland counties, and Fredericksburg City.
