The Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library is thrilled to announce beginning on Friday, October 30, 2020 at 10am, it will reopen the building to the public for select onsite services, many of which have been greatly missed and some that are new.

To keep its staff and patrons as safe as possible, the Library has implemented extensive preventative measures and controls, including that all staff and visitors will be required to wear masks, practice physical distancing and all public spaces have limited capacities.

The Sawyer Free Library will be open for public service six days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 10 am to 5 pm, except for Thursday, when it is open from 12 to 7 pm. Visitors coming to the Library to borrow from the collections are requested to keep their visits to 30 minutes or less, including young people and their families in the Library’s Children’s Room. People are encouraged to search the online catalogue before visiting to see what is available and make a list of materials with their call numbers so they can be found more easily.

The public is requested to use the entrance closest to the Library area that they want to visit. The parking lot entrance will be for access to the Children’s Room and those with accessibility needs. The Dale Avenue entrance will be for the first floor where the fiction, DVD, and music collections are available for browsing and the Friends Book Shop is located. If people need materials from the non-fiction and local history collections on the second floor, the staff will be happy to retrieve them.

Also on the first floor, the Library will have two first-come first-served express public computer stations for 30 minute sessions. People needing public computer access for longer periods may check out a Chrome Book or an App Sampler Tablet along with a 3-hour Wireless Hot-Spot.

The Library will be opening the 2nd floor to students ages 11 and up as a Student Study Hall from 1 to 5 pm Monday through Friday. It will offer students independent study stations in a safe, welcoming environment where they will have access to WiFi, resources to support their learning and staff assistance to help them thrive. For everyone’s safety, all work stations and tables are socially distanced and sanitization supplies are readily available. Study spaces are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and students are requested to keep their visits to under 2 hours. 

The library experience will be very different from the last time people visited. Furniture, tables, and seating have been removed to increase the amount of space available for proper social distancing. Directional pathways and signage will help manage traffic throughout the Library. Hand sanitizer stations are available. The staff will be social distancing behind glass barriers installed at service areas and wearing masks at all times.

The Sawyer Free Library staff recognizes that not everyone will be ready for an in-person visit and will continue to offer many of its offsite services. Library cardholders can still utilize the daily curbside pick up, digital collections for downloading, and its online programming for Book Clubs and children’s storytime. The staff is always happy to assist anyone by phone, email, and LibChat for questions about online resources, tech issues, and book recommendations.

The following services remain temporarily unavailable at the Sawyer Free Library: public indoor lounge seating, meeting rooms and group study spaces, newspapers, and in-person public programs.

For detailed information about the Sawyer Free Library’s services, programs, procedures and policies, and COVID-19 updates, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.