The target date for in person services at the Mary J.L. Black Library and County Park Library is Tuesday, September 7. Hours of operation are currently set to be Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It is being planned that the Waverley Library and Brodie Library will open their doors Monday, September 27.

John Pateman is the Chief Librarian, and explains some of the work that went into ensuring a safe reopening.

“Thunder Bay Public Library has been preparing for a phased reopening, taking into account lots of different things including the vaccination rates, provincial roadmap, public health, all that kind of stuff.”

Pateman goes on to say that while they have had their doors closed to the public for some time, they have been keeping busy.

“We’ve taken the opportunity to reset and reimagine the libraries,” explains Pateman. “For example, at our two downtown libraries, they’ve pretty much been completely transformed. There’s all new shelving, all new wooden shelving, they’re on wheels, so we can move them around and make exciting spaces. We’ve also got new desks, so we got rid of the big old clunky desks.”

Upon reopening, health guidelines will continue to be in effect in all libraries in Thunder Bay. This will mean screening, contact tracing, capacity limits, physical distancing, mask requirements, policy enforcement, and strict cleaning will still occur.

Until reopening, Waverley, Brodie, and Mary J.L. Black Library will offer curbside services until September 3, 2021, Monday to Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

This will include curbside pick up and returns, and staff offering take and make craft kits, book bundles, and online programming amongst other services.

The virtual library is still open, providing eBooks, eAudiobooks, comics, eMagazines, streaming content and online databased.