FLORENCE – The Florence-Lauderdale Public Library wants to thank you for your continued support and to provide an update on library services. The last few weeks have tested our resilience as a community, but we have all found a way to make the best of this unprecedented situation. The library has worked hard to offer programs and resources to keep the community engaged. We now find ourselves at a new crossroads: the process of reopening our building to the public.
As many of you know, Governor Ivey’s Stay at Home order expired on April 30, 2020 at 5:00 pm. This was replaced with a Safer at Home order. The Florence-Lauderdale Public Library is taking steps to safely resume limited services in our building. Please know that it is our desire to get back to normal operations as soon as possible. However, we must ensure your safety and that of the staff.
FLPL is a vibrant community center where people have regularly gathered for educational and cultural events and have shared hundreds of physical resources every day. Therefore, we must be diligent in creating a phased re-opening plan that will keep everyone safe. Although we don’t have a definitive date for when these phases will start, our staff is developing new procedures for sanitation and social distancing, based on guidelines and best practices from our state and national library associations.
Here are a few things you can expect during the first phases of re-opening:
- The library will have limited hours for returning checked-out books and for picking up new materials to check out. Please note that you will have until at least July 6 to return any items you currently have checked out.
- We will be operating under closed stacks, which means that library staff will retrieve the books, audiobooks, and DVDs that you want to check out.
- All books returned to the library will be quarantined for at least 72 hours before being made available to check out.
- We will continue offering online programs and increasing our digital services, so you and your family can still use the library even if you’re staying home.
Executive Director
Florence-Lauderdale Public Library
