Boise libraries reopen, with limited hours, and without business as usual. What to know
You can browse Boise libraries once again.
You can’t stick around forever — browsing time is limited to 20 minutes or less — and you’ll have to wear a mask and maintain social distancing. But it’s your first opportunity to walk around the previously closed-to-the-public libraries.
In a news release, library officials said curbside pickup (available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays) is still the preferred option. “Personalized Picks,” a new service where patrons can get personalized recommendations from librarians, is also available.
The reopening is part of the city of Boise’s reopening of all its buildings this month.
With the exception of the Boise Airport, many city properties had been closed to the public since March to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Boise City Hall reopened Sept. 8, as did City Hall West, the Fort Boise Community Center, Idaho Ice World and a few other spaces. The libraries reopened for public browsing Monday, Sept. 28. The James Castle House will open Thursday, Oct. 1.
The reopened spaces might not look quite the same.
What will I be able to do?
At the library, people will have access, but it will be limited. Here’s what you need to know.
At the main library, 715 S. Capitol Blvd., you can browse or walk in to use computers from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
At neighborhood branches, you can browse from 4 to 6 p.m. on weekdays. You can make daytime computer appointments at the Cole and Ustick branch and the Hillcrest branch from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
All libraries will continue to open at 10 a.m. each day for curbside pickup.
Libraries opened a few weeks after other city buildings. Kyle Patterson, a data strategist for the city, said the changes at the library required “a pretty radical departure in service delivery,” which is the reason for extra time before the public will be allowed in. He said the library system would work to fill 16 vacant positions.
Idaho Ice World is now offering drop-in programs as well as some learn-to-skate classes for figure skating and hockey.
Participants are required to sign in, just in case contract tracing needs to be done for COVID-19, Patterson said. The number of skaters will be limited and spread between both sheets of ice, Doug Holloway, director of Boise’s Parks and Recreation Department, told the council.
Fort Boise Community Center reopened Sept. 8. The fitness area is available by appointment only.
What other changes have come to Boise’s buildings?
Masks are required in most indoor spaces, Patterson told the Boise City Council on Sept. 1.
The mandates will be enforced at libraries and City Hall by what Patterson called “ambassadors” stationed at front doors. Ambassadors — city employees whose jobs were repurposed during the pandemic — have been used for several months to ask people to respect social distancing.
Those visiting Idaho Ice World can take off their masks while skating, Patterson said, but the coverings have to go back on “the minute you come off the ice.”
“We will provide accommodations for those that, for reasons known to them from a health perspective, make it impossible to wear a mask,” Mayor Lauren McLean told the council. “That includes a continuation of digital and by-phone services and other gear that our ambassadors will have available.”
Sanitizing stations have been added in many public spaces as well, Patterson said.
Spaces that accommodate the public regularly, such as the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, have plastic dividers separating the public and employees. There also are stickers on the floor to mark 6-feet distances.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 8:03 PM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly listen when libraries would be open to visitors and what services would be offered.
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