Bremen Public Library to reopen with modified layout

MARSHALL COUNTY, Ind.— Beginning next month, the Bremen Public Library will re-open its doors to the public. However, the layout will look a bit different.

Chris Scandling the library director at Bremen Public Library is ready to welcome the public back inside the library, for the first time in months. However, it won’t be the community gathering spot it once was due to COVID-19 concerns.

“We very much want to welcome people through the doors, but right now the message is grab and go,” Scandling said.

When the building reopens on June 1, 2020, there will be less seating available, computers will be spaced apart and only a few of them will be accessible.

In the children’s department downstairs, the toys and games that are usually scattered around the area will be tucked away in storage. Meeting rooms will also be temporarily unavailable for booking for the time being as well.

“We like to think that while there are going to be some limitations, some restrictions in place, the trade-off is more beneficial,” Scandling said. “The things we are going to be offering, we are lucky, that, in being a small library, we’re able to open doors and let patrons in. A lot of the large libraries just can’t manage that volume right now."

People will be able to browse the library and check out books, movies, and audiobooks. They copy and fax machine will also be available for those who need to use it. But the computers will be reserved for essential use only.

Scandling said once items are returned, they are put in a quarantine room, where they are isolated for seventy-two hours.

“The CDC says that surfaces are very low transmission rate and anything from 24 to 48 hours is sufficient, but we take that extra step with 72 hours so that way we can be very comfortable from the patron's standpoint that we are doing everything possible to make sure that we are slowing the spread and stopping the spread of the virus," Scandling said.

The library will remain to offer their takeout service for those who are still uncomfortable going inside.