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We are eager to get back to serving our community in person, but health and safety of our patrons and staff remain our top priority. To make sure we are operating as safely as possible, we are taking a phased approach to reestablishing services. We will be starting with contact-less curbside service beginning Monday, May 18, as we continue to monitor the recommendations of government and public health officials and plan for the next steps. The library building itself will remain closed to patrons at this time, so service will be drive through only for the next several weeks. Here’s how our curbside/drive through service will work:

• We will be filling holds only for our own patrons, and only on local items owned by Carthage Public Library at this time.
• Holds and checkouts are temporarily limited to 10 items per account.
• You may place holds either by calling the library directly, or via self-service online at your convenience. No matter how you place your holds, you will still need to make a phone call to arrange a pick-up time. We ask that you wait at least 24 hours after placing your holds before calling to arrange your pick-up time.
• To arrange your pick-up time, give us a call and speak to one of our staff members. Our phones will be online starting on Monday, May 18 at 11 am. Staff members will be answering phones and scheduling pickups between 11am and 6pm Monday through Friday, with Saturday hours coming soon. We ask that you have your card number handy when you call us, but we can still assist you if you’ve misplaced it.
• To pick up your items at your prearranged time, just pull through the book drop area. Look for the table just outside the staff entrance. Your items will be in a sealed bag, already checked out and ready to go, with the due date slip inside. Simply pick up the bag with your name on it – there’s no need to show proof of identity when picking your items up. Surveillance cameras are situated in the pick-up area for for security. If you don’t pick your items up at the scheduled time, we will bring them back into the library and you can call again to reschedule another pickup time.
• After that, just pull forward through the book drop to return any materials, and you’re done! When dropping books off, for safety reasons, all materials will be quarantined inside the library for 72 hours before being returned to the collection. So if you drop something off and don’t see it removed from your account the same day, don’t worry! It will be checked in a few days later and you won’t incur any fines due to the delay.

We look forward to serving you soon!

As part of our phased reopening, our drive through book drop on the North side of the building will reopen Monday, May 18 at 9 am for returns.

However, there’s no rush, as we are giving our patrons a grace period for fines and overdues – everything checked out immediately before our emergency closure has been given a due date of June 9th. So feel free to return your items later in the week if it’s convenient for you. We actually would appreciate it if you waited a day or two because we’ll probably be swamped on Monday!

Only the drive through book drop will be open for returns at this time, as patrons will not be allowed to enter the library during this phase of our reopening. Also please note that returned items may not be checked in immediately due to workflow changes. So if you turn something back in and it’s not immediately removed from your account that day, no need to worry. They will be checked in within several days and will be back-dated to the day you returned them.

We are also resuming other services soon, like curbside checkout – see our Director’s note for more details!

Carthage Public Library Reopening
Information Release
May 13, 2020

On Monday, May 18, 2020, the Carthage Public Library will begin its phased reopening plan. The library will begin accepting returns of previously checked out materials through the book drop only. The book drop has been closed since the library shut its doors on March 18 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In order to ensure the health and safety of patrons and staff, the library has remained closed and is now moving cautiously to bring staff and patrons back into the facility. During our time of closure, patrons have had numerous opportunities to access virtual programs, the library’s vast collection of digital books and resources, as well as free Wi-Fi services in the parking lot.

The past few weeks have been extremely difficult for everyone, and we are anxious to get back to serving our community in person. However, the health and safety of our patrons and staff remain our top priority. We need to make sure we are operating as safely as possible. Because of this, we are taking a phased approach to reopening our facility. We will be starting with contactless curbside service beginning Monday, May 18, as we continue to monitor the recommendations of government and public health officials and plan for the next steps.

To take advantage of our new curbside service, patrons may place holds online or by calling the library directly beginning Monday, May 18. A staff member will work with patrons to schedule a time for patrons to come by the library to pick up their materials between the hours of 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Patrons will be instructed to pull through the book drop area where they will find a table with bags just outside the staff entrance. Simply pick up the bag with your name on it, no need to show proof of identity when picking your items up. Surveillance cameras are situated in that area for security. Patrons are then asked to pull through the book drop to return any materials that they have had checked out. All materials will be quarantined inside the library for 72 hours before being returned to the collection.

During the week of May 11, staff have been working to prepare for curbside service, sanitizing the library, preparing the library for social distancing visits in the future, and getting core operations running efficiently again. The library building remains closed, but we remain hopeful that limited in-house physical services can be reinstated in a few weeks. The library is continuing to work on obtaining masks, gloves, sanitizer, and cleaning supplies for its staff and has also developed new safety procedures for safely receiving and lending materials. Staff are being trained on these new procedures and on the use of personal protective equipment.

The third phase of the reopening plan is to open the library doors for limited services. Meeting rooms will be unavailable and there will be no in-house programs until at least August. We will continue to have multiple take home and virtual programs available including an awesome Summer Reading Program for all ages.

Check out our Facebook page and the library website for updates on our progress as well as services available to our patrons. Beginning May 18, feel free to call the library at 471-237-7040 to get personal help with your requests. Staff are eager to help our patrons in any way possible.

Our plans are fluid and we realize they may need to be adjusted as we move forward.
Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we move cautiously into the future.

Julie Yockey, Director

May 3, 2020

Using the recommendations from Governor Parson, state and local health departments, the CDC and the Missouri State Library, the Carthage Public Library, along with all public libraries in our state, have a preliminary 5-6 step plan for reopening our libraries. A formal decision to begin reopening will be made and shared in the near future while moving cautiously and keeping our patrons’ and employees’ best interests at the forefront of our plan.
The staff of the Carthage Public Library is anxious to see our patrons again and get those materials that you so desire into your hands. Our first step will be to open the book drop, located on the north side of the building, as all materials will be returned this way. No materials will be hand-carried inside the library until further notice. Once returned, materials will be quarantined for 36 hours. We will continue to remain “fine free” until the end of May. Continue to check our Facebook page and our website for the actual date this week the book drop will be opened. Patrons will also be able to start placing hold requests on any materials they wish to check out in the very near future. Our first mode of getting materials into your hands will be a curbside pickup service.
We hope that you have been able to stay connected through the use of our free Wi-Fi access in the parking lot as well as the thousands of free e-books available with your library card. If you don’t have a library card yet, be sure to check out the great opportunity on our website to get your free card to access our e-books. We have also begun sharing Virtual Story Times to our Facebook page and will continue to make those available. Be watching for information on our Summer Reading Plans as well. It will be different this year, but it promises to keep you and your children reading. “Imagine Your Story” is our theme this year; I just can’t “imagine” some of your stories from this most difficult time.
Stay tuned for updates on our reopening plans and please remember that our Library is a very large, popular institution that must keep the best health interests of all people on the forefront of our decisions.
Julie Yockey, Director

These are trying times, and we know the community is missing the Library; we are missing serving all of you too! If you don’t have a library card, we have devised a way to help.

Use the Google form linked below to sign up for an Internet Only card which can be used to immediately access our database of ebooks and e-audiobooks from your personal device!

https://forms.gle/qaUEJ3T9dHpBVSyKA

In an effort to be proactive in protecting the health and safety of our patrons, staff, and the community during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Carthage Public Library is closing beginning Wednesday, March 18 until further notice. This includes all programs and outreach services.

The decision was difficult to make. We care deeply about being available for our community members, recognizing that the Library and its services are invaluable; however we feel that this is the responsible thing to do at this time. Closings are inevitable, and the longer we delay, the less benefit is derived. We hope that this decision and similar action being taken by other organizations will maximize the benefits of recommended social distancing.

The Library’s administrative team will continue to monitor developments and respond accordingly. We encourage you to follow us on Facebook and check our website for updates.

The Library will be open on until 12:00pm on March 18, 2020, which is the last day patrons can check out materials or pick up holds. Holds will be maintained until the Library reopens. Patrons are asked NOT to return materials as the outside book drop will be locked. There will be no penalty, fines, or overdues during the time we are closed.

Patrons can still have access to the Library’s digital resources, which include e-books, audiobooks, e-magazines, etc.  Library administration will be sharing on-line story times and resources through our Facebook page. WiFi coverage has been extended from 6am to 9pm seven days a week and can be accessed from outside the building. We will also be adjusting the network to improve coverage in the parking lot very soon.

Please know that the Library will reopen as soon as it is deemed safe for the public to use our facilities.