By Cyndi Sellers
Cameron Parish Library announced this week that public libraries will be opening to the public on Monday, June 8. The libraries will be instituting new temporary guidelines for keeping customers and staff safe during the corona virus pandemic, including limiting the number of customers who can be in the library at one time, asking patrons to social distance, and requesting patrons to wear masks.
While open to the public on regular days, the weekday library hours will be 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to allow for disinfecting of the buildings. Saturday library services will be limited to curbside services only by calling the library in advance.
The library will also temporally reserve the first hour of the day for senior citizens. Other measures include one-way movement through the aisles, limited public restrooms, no unattended children in library, no programs or activities planned, and limiting computer usage and time of visits to 30 minutes.
The Cameron Parish Library has free 24-hour WIFI services in all library parking lots available to the public. Libraries also provide free online tutoring, digital books, and other electronic services from the website at www.cameron.lib.la.us.
Each library branch will be offering “grab and go craft packs”, online programming and the summer reading program throughout the summer. Follow the Cameron Parish Library on Facebook for more information on upcoming services and story time information.
“We always want people to feel welcome at Cameron Parish Library, and we know that in ordinary times a library is a gathering place for the community to connect and socialize. We look forward to the time when that is again the case; however, we now want to prioritize health and safety by encouraging customers to do their library browsing at a distance from others,” said library administrator Dede Sanders.
“We’re proud of the commitment our library board and staff have made to ensure all of our guests can count on the library and it’s services, and we’ll continue to focus our efforts on supporting them and keeping them safe. These temporary measures are aimed at ensuring we are creating a safer environment for everyone. Our wish is to provide our staff with resources to keep them safe as they provide valuable services in communities across the parish.”