Libraries reverting to normal hours next week

On April 5, the Shawano County Library system will be returning back to its normal hours.

The library system has found it appropriate to change their hours back to the hours that were in place before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

On March 1, the library branches reopened to the public but only for select days during the week. Now, all of the branches will be going back to the same hours of operation as they had before they closed due to the pandemic. According to Library Director Kristie Hauer the advancements in COVID-19 treatment, as well as the decline in cases, are attributed to the libraries’ ability to fully reopen.

“There is a continued trend of less spread of coronavirus in our community,” said Hauer. “The availability of vaccinations that are spreading through our community has been a little bit better than it had been earlier.”

Hauer also mentioned that she has heard feedback from patrons wanting to come in on their own schedule, rather than patrons having to create appointments to use the facilities.

Should a number of staff members get sick or be exposed to the coronavirus, Hauer expects that services will have to temporarily be paused.

“We do know that, should staff members get sick or be exposed to the virus, that there will be temporary interruptions to services,” said Hauer. “We have had very few problems in the last year, so we hope that we can continue on without having those interruptions.”

For those individuals that don’t feel comfortable entering the library or have another reason why they don’t want to be in the library, services offered during the pandemic are still available. Curbside pickup will still be offered. Hauer and the library staff are also able to assist those individuals at the door of the library.

Throughout the pandemic and the initial reopening, the library staff has been able to run all of their services or variants of them to the patrons who aren’t physically coming in the library. The only service that the library hasn’t been able to provide for those individuals is computer use.

Within the libraries, staff and patrons will still abide by the COVID-19 mandates, including wearing a mask and socially distancing. Each guest will only be limited to an hour spent in the library as well. In-person programs will still be halted, as of now. Meeting rooms in the Shawano branch will continue to be closed and the maximum capacity of the library will run at 25%. Bathrooms will remain open as well.

Hauer is looking to work with the city and village parks in respective communities to hold programs outside once summer rolls around. Through May, programs will still be featured online on the Shawano County Library Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/shawanocountylibrary) and its YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChiAgDZU-_HlP7sqlS-0_7A).

“I will anticipate that we will have an early stage to our meeting rooms at some point where its groups under a certain size,” said Hauer.

Once the public hears about the library going back to regular hours, Hauer expects to see more people coming in to the Shawano branch, because of both National Library Week and the change back to normal hours.

“It will be a nice light week of celebration, and seeing people we haven’t seen in a while will be good,” said Hauer

With National Library Week occurring from April 4-10, the libraries have a few festivities planned for the week. One of the major events taking place is a Chromebook drawing.

“Anyone who visits this or any of the other branches can enter into that drawing, and we will pick two winners at the end of the week to win the Chromebook,” said Hauer.

With National Library Week, Hauer hopes to highlight all of the resources that the library provides outside of just books.

“There is educational purposes that the library serves in an academic sense and in the sense of how we live our lives,” said Hauer. “There is also a component of life skills and job skills — whether it be applying for jobs or taking online courses, the library has resources available that people may not have at home.”

The Shawano library is also planning on including the community in events during the week, like a community walk at noon on April 7. Also, each day of the week, there will be a virtual tour of each branch in the county, posted on its Facebook page.

lreimer@newmedia-wi.com

AT A GLANCE

Shawano County Library branch hours

Birnamwood: Monday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to noon.

Bonduel: Monday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to noon

Mattoon: Tuesday 2-6 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Shawano: Monday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tigerton: Tuesday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to noon

Wittenberg: Tuesday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 10 a.m to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to noon