The New Westminster Public Library has a conundrum: the very factors that make the library a welcoming place and a destination for folks from across the city are the same things that make a speedy reopening difficult.
On Monday, staff updated council on the city’s response to the province’s plan to restart services that have been suspended during the COVID- pandemic. The provincial government has stated that libraries can reopen in Phase 2 of its Restart B.C. plan, which begins in mid-May – a decision that came as a surprise to some B.C. libraries.
“We are very eager to reopen the library but the restrictions being placed on public facilities are considerable,” said chief librarian Julie Spurrell. “Both our libraries were built with principles that make them open spaces that encourage public gatherings, encourage neighbours and friends to get together, sit closely and talk about books, or for students sit close together and study. We would need to make many changes physically and organizationally to our libraries in order to reopen them.”
Since the library closed in mid-March, 19 of its 22 employees have been temporarily redeployed to other jobs in the city. Remaining staff have been focusing on improving the library’s online and digital resources.
“Unfortunately, because of all the things we need to do to make staff, the public and our facilities safe, it is too early for us to even consider opening the building,” Spurrell said. “However, we know through our experiences at the library, through surveys and through working with our community, that consistently the most important service that we provide to people is access to our collections.”
So, starting this week, the New Westminster Public Library’s uptown branch is launching a “take-out service,” which allows people to pre-order books, CDs and DVDs online or by phone and pick up the items up at designated times. A similar service is planned to start in Queensborough in the summer.
“This is designed so that it is as touchless as possible but also as accessible as possible,” Spurrell said. “Because it is being done through appointments, it will be very safe for vulnerable people, for seniors, and for people who have special health concerns. They will still be able to come safely because we are planning this so there won’t be long lineups, there won’t be a lot of physical-distancing issues because we will be limiting the number of people who can come at any one time to pick up materials.”
Following the Victoria Day long weekend, the uptown branch will also be expanding Wi-Fi access in its plaza. The library is also continuing to move more of its programs online, including its New Westminster Reads adult book club and Babytime Storytime.
According to Spurrell, it’s “too early” to be looking at reopening the physical library, as the city is waiting for guidance from the province, public health experts, WorkSafeBC and various library associations.
“For now, we are focusing on a slow-paced approach to service provision to ensure that library staff and library users are not risking their health and their wellness by coming to the library,” she said.
Phase 2 of the New Westminster Public Library’s plan will start in the summer. During this phase, library take-out services will continue, more programs will be offered online and a small part of the building will be opened up for a mini computer lab. Phase 3, which would provide limited access to both the uptown and Queensborough branches, could begin in the fall, depending on transmission of the virus and other factors.
“I think of it sort of as ‘public libraries lite’ where we will have shorter hours,” Spurrell said. “The interior of the facilities will be quite different. What people have access to will be different. But it would allow people to come into the building and to have unmediated access to the collections, which for a lot of people is a very important thing. Having to decide beforehand what you want to read is not something that everybody wants. They want to come in and browse and serendipitously find opportunity for reading and learning and for viewing.”
Under the current timeline, the two branches of the public library wouldn’t open pre-pandemic levels until sometime in 2021.
“Our ability to fully open both of our facilities will be dependent on factors outside of our control,” Spurrell said. “It’s going to be frustrating for us and for library users, but coming to the library should be a great thing to do and not a risky thing to do.”
Coun. Nadine Nakagawa said she was “startled” to hear the library isn’t planning on opening until 2021, given that they are included in Phase 2 of the province’s restart plan. She said the library is her “top priority” among civic facilities she wants to see reopened and she’d support allocating extra resources to make that happen.
“The library is a very important amenity,” she said. “It services an under-resourced part of our community.”
Spurrell said the most public libraries didn’t think they would be opening this soon in the province’s plan. At this time, she said they have not received their reopening guidelines, which need to be approved by the province.
While the openness and welcoming atmosphere of the library are among the best parts of the library, Spurrell said they’re also the things that contribute to the transmission of viruses. She noted the library is a place where people are using public washrooms and using computers that someone may have just used and sneezed on.
Some council members pointed to retail and grocery stores as examples of places that have quickly introduced COVID-19 protocols that allow people to shop safely.
“People automatically put us with those guidelines,” Spurrell said. “The difference is that when you go to the 7-Eleven or to the Safeway, you don’t plan to spend the day there. You get a grocery cart, you walk through the door, and you go up and down the carefully guided aisles now. You grab Cheerios, bread and whatever you need, you pay and you exit. Anything that those stores had before to encourage you to stay like seats or café tables, those are gone.”
Spurrell said that is the very conundrum the New Westminster Public Library is trying to address, as it’s a place that’s been designed to encourage people to linger, to read, to hang out with their neighbours, to come to a program and then to read for a couple of hours.
Considering council’s feedback on the issue, Mayor Jonathan Cote suggested staff consider if there are any opportunities that could speed up the plan to reopen part of library in a safe way.
