The home delivery service was suspended in March in line with the government’s Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. Many customers were shielding due to being at very high risk of severe illness from Covid-19. During this time, home delivery staff called their customers to check they were keeping well.
As the service reopens, stringent safety measures will be put in place to ensure the safety of customers and staff. Risk assessments have been completed to ensure all government guidance is followed. Other measures will be in place such as:
• No direct contact between customers and staff
• All returned stock will be quarantined for 72 hours
• Staff will wear gloves when delivering stock
• Customers can choose to resume their deliveries now or at a future date
Councillor Gemma Davies, Cabinet Member for Commissioning, Procurement and Assets, said: “The library home delivery service is invaluable to our shielding readers and I am sure they will welcome its return as much as I do. Our library staff have worked hard behind the scenes to make sure the service can resume safely. Cultural services play an essential part of our health and wellbeing – especially those who are socially isolated – and we are working hard to get our libraries, museums and archive open to the public as soon as it is safe to do so.”
As lockdown measures are gradually eased, the council is looking to reopen as many libraries as possible as soon as it is safe to do so. This is likely to be a phased approach on a site by site basis to ensure reopening complies with national guidance.
While the library buildings are closed, the online service remains as popular as ever. The BorrowBox eBook and eAudio app has thousands of titles available for free, including the latest fiction and non-fiction bestsellers and children’s books. There is also a Facebook-based reading group which is a great way of joining a reading community – follow @HfdsLibraries on Facebook for details.
To find out more about the resources available, and how to join if you are not already a member, please see the library section of the Herefordshire Council website at http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/libraries
