⏩ Bridgeport libraries may not reopen until July.
BRIDGEPORT — The city’s five public library branches may look more like retail establishments when they reopen.
Plans include footprints reminding patrons to maintain a 6-foot distance, a requirement to wear masks and gloves, plastic barriers at checkout and no live events.
While Gov. Ned Lamont placed the libraries in his June 20 reopening plan, city librarian Elaine Braithwaite has another plan in mind: a five-stage procedure with a soft opening in mid-July and full reopening as late as the end of the year, COVID-19 permitting.
“Most of the state’s libraries have not committed to a full reopening date yet,” she said.
The five city branches — the Burroughs-Saden building on Broad Street, the North End branch on Madison Avenue, the Black Rock branch on Fairfield Avenue, the Newfield branch on Central Avenue and the East Side branch on East Main Street — have been closed since March 16.
“Our five buildings may have been closed but our staff has kept working from home,” Braithwaite said. “They’ve been taking library card applications, answering reference questions and assisting people by conducting research on line. They’ve also been providing online story times for children and helping others to fill out the census form. While our doors are closed, our staff never stopped working.”
While borrowing is on hold, Braithwaite said, people have been able to access some books, movies and music via online streaming.
On Thursday, library maintenance manager David Otero was directing deep cleaning and renovation efforts in the BurroughsSaden building.
“Besides disinfecting the five libraries from top to bottom repeatedly, we had plenty of projects to tackle including painting, floor stripping and waxing of vinyl tile and terazzo, plumbing upgrades, landscaping, cleaning light fixtures which hadn’t been done in over a decade and upgrading our security cameras,” Otero said.
Crews also disinfected and steam-cleaned every bathroom and wiped down every surface.
Braithwaite said a bigger project will soon begin at the main library that will transform the second floor with new computers and carpet tiles and a reconfiguration to take into account social distancing. Otero said the second floor project, expected to take from four to six weeks, is at least two weeks away from starting.
At the North End branch, Otero said he and his staffers took down all 30 of the globe light fixtures, checked them and cleaned them.
“They probably hadn’t been cleaned in 20 years,” he said. “Each one took about a half hour.”
He said new acrylic barriers, similar to the ones at checkout counters in retail stores, will be installed over work stations where staff interacts with patrons
Staff will return June 1 on alternating schedules. Before they can walk through the door, they must have tested negative for COVID-19 and will undergo daily temperature monitoring. Inside, they will be wearing masks and gloves and — for some tasks involving the outside drop boxes — gowns and face shields. Immunocompromised staffers will work from home.
During stage two of the library reopen plan, WiFi access will be installed in the lobby to allow patrons to use devices there instead of coming inside.
“I plan to do some Facebook Live segments explaining to the public what to expect when we reopen all our branches and provide some dates about our soft opening,”
Braithwaite said. “We’re doing all this in baby steps to comply with the federal, state and local guidelines.”
Stage two also involves devising a program allowing patrons to request an item and schedule a time for pick up using their phone or email. The item will be waiting with their name at a front desk.
That process will be implemented in stage three, the actual opening of all five branches, now planned for mid-July. Beside picking up reserved items, Braithwaite expects patrons to use the first floor computers for no more than 45 minutes.
“They’ll be able to check their email, apply for jobs or unemployment compensation and complete their census forms,” Braithwaite said. “Once the individual is finished, the computer will be wiped down with a disinfectant.”
She said security personnel will be present and occupancy limits are expected to be in place.
“We may allow people and children 12 and over to come in and search for materials,” she said. “We will require people to wear masks and gloves but we will not be distributing them to the public. We’ll have tissues available and handsanitizing stations are being placed throughout our libraries..”
Stage four is expected to take place in the fall. It will allow younger children accompanied by parents to use the children’s room. By then, the libraries may have Chromebooks and WiFi hot spot devices available to check out.
By the end of the year, Braithwaite said she hopes all the branches will have all services available.
“This may not be the library environment you are used to; this could be the new norm,” she said. “We are looking forward to engaging with public, but it will be at a distance. Our goal is to ensure everyone’s safety as best as we can.”