Cumberland library offers patrons contactless pickup
CUMBERLAND — While libraries remain closed to the public to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the Cumberland Public Library continues to serve the community with a creative way for patrons to check-out books and other library materials: contactless pickup.
Library Director Celeste Dyer said the library, located on Diamond Hill Road, launched the contactless pickup option on Monday, the first step in the library’s plans to reopen when it is safe to do so.
Dyer said public libraries across the state, including those in Woonsocket, Lincoln, Pawtucket and East Providence, are offering curbside/contactless pick up of library materials now that Rhode Island’s stay-at-home order is lifted and the state is in Phase I of its reopening plan.
Similar to the contactless curbside pickup service used by restaurants, coffee shops and some stores, the library allows patrons to contact the library to set up a pickup time for books, CDs, DVDs, and other items using the library’s online catalog.
Contactless means people won’t have direct interaction with library staff when they come to pick up their items.
Dyer says the Cumberland Public Library has a limit of five items per library card. Once a request is made, library staff will notify the patron when the materials are ready for pickup. The items are placed in a plastic bag with the patron’s name and left on a table in the library’s foyer.
When patrons arrive to pickup, they are asked to call the front desk from their vehicles. The staff will tell the person whether the lobby is empty of anyone else picking up an order. If empty, they are invited to come in and pick up their order.
“Just give us a call when you get to the library and we will place your requests in the lobby. They will already be checked out to you,” says Dyer.
See LIBRARY, page A3