Contactless pick-up begins at Osterhout Library as part of ‘phased reopening’

WILKES-BARRE — With our area now finally in the final stages of Pennsylvania’s phased reopening, the Osterhout Free Library announced a phased reopening of its own this week.

According to a release from the library on Thursday, the Osterhout is planning on slowly beginning to reopen. A limited number of the staff is preparing the library to meet social distancing requirements to allow a larger number of staff and volunteers, and eventually patrons, to physically be in the library, the release states.

For right now, though, contactless pick-up is available, and it started on June 29. Richard Miller, executive director of the library, says the process is simple.

“We are working to make it as simple as possible,” he said in the release. “All you have to do is call the branch you wish to pick up from (Central, Plains, North or South), let the librarian know what you are looking for, and schedule a pick-up time.”

Miller said the slow reopening is necessary to make sure that the Osterhout system is able to continue to provide its important services but in a way that keeps everyone safe.

“We are anxious to have our wonderful community of readers inside our facility once again, but their safety is our utmost priority,” Miller said. “There will be necessary changes in the number of people that we can serve at one time and the type of services and programs that we offer.

“We appreciate the patience and understanding of our devoted library users,” he went on.

A concrete timeline of the reopening is not provided, but the release says it will be ongoing over the “next several weeks.”

And while the library might not be physically allowing patrons in just yet, Miller previously told the Times Leader that there are still a large number of online resources that those with a Luzerne County library card can find on the library’s website, including ebooks, newspapers, audiobooks and research databases.

Thursday’s release told eager patrons to keep an eye on the library’s Facebook page to keep updated with the Osterhout’s phased reopening, and to visit the library’s website or call 570-823-5544 for more information.