Now that our doors are open (Wednesday – Saturday), it has been wonderful to see so many people back at the library. Our staff have missed having patrons in the library and we are glad to see our library friends and families again! 

Our ability to open further – or to avoid implementing restrictions again – depends on continued progress against the pandemic. We carefully monitor two key metrics tracked by the CDC: the number of new cases per 100,000 population and the percentage of positive test results.

Lately, these numbers have been rising in Goodhue County. If the numbers continue to rise such that for 3 consecutive days both numbers are in the CDC’s high transmission range (the total number of new cases per 100,000 equals or exceeds 100 and the percentage of positive test results equals or exceeds 10%), we will have to tighten our restrictions at the library. This would mean returning to appointment only browsing and computer time and asking patrons to use curbside pickup for most items.

While we hope these measures do not need to be implemented, we wanted to inform everyone of the possible changes in the coming days. We will continue to monitor the CDC COVID Data Tracker and keep the public informed if things should change. 

Thank you for your continued support during these unprecedented times. We appreciate your understanding and we will continue to do our very best to keep our patrons safe and healthy. This includes our continuing requirement that all visitors age 2 and over wear a correctly fitting cloth mask regardless of vaccination status. Unfortunately, face shields are not permitted in the library as a substitute for cloth masks, as they have not proven effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19 and as such are not recommended for use by the CDC.

The details:

1. No browsing appointments needed on Wednesday through Saturday. Hours are Wednesday 10-5, Thursday 10-6, Friday 10-5 and Saturday 10-1.
2. You will still need a mask and we are limiting visits to 30 minutes per day.
3. You will need an appointment, and the doors will be locked, on Mondays and Tuesdays for both browsing and computer use – we are limiting the number of people in the building those days to better serve our patrons at higher risk from COVID.
4. Because the number of computers will still be limited, we recommend continuing to make appointments for PC use on Wednesday through Saturday.
5. Curbside pickup will continue to be available

As always, we will continue to monitor the situation and further loosen (we hope!) or tighten restrictions as necessary.