Town’s library only available for ‘takeaways’

It is a very different layout greeting visitors since reopening last Monday, with desks and screens barring the way into the building apart from a small reception area.

Partnership manager for Better Libraries in Lincolnshire Nicola Rogers explained: “We are offering a library ‘takeaway service’, alongside accepting returned items for quarantining. The team at Sleaford Library have very much appreciated customers’ patience and understanding.”

She said the joy of browsing had been paused and, in line with government guidance, staff now have to quarantine all the hundreds of items of returned stock for 72 hours before processing it.

Nicola said: “Sleaford Library has no back-of-house storage areas so we have had to cordon large parts of the library off for quarantining purposes initially. By offering our takeaway service we can start to get stock going out again and so over the next few weeks we can start to regain our stock balance and so need to cordon off less of the library.”

They will then move to allowing a limited number of customers further in to browse, offering hand sanitiser and cleaning high touch surfaces regularly.

Just one computer is available to be booked by those who need it.

Weekly activities have moved online, including videos of staff doing story and rhyme times, craft club, brain booster quizzes and even eBook recommendations.

eBook loans have increased by over 200 per cent and online reference resources have assisted lots of home schooling parents, said Nicola.