The joy of finding a good book to read is now a little bit easier in Cleveland County. As of May 18, 2020, Cleveland County Memorial Library (CCML) in Shelby and the Spangler branch library in Lawndale are once again open to the public.

"We are so glad to be able to open up again to our patrons, but we do have a few changes and limitations on our services," says Ensley Guffey, director of marketing for the Cleveland County Library System (CCLS). "CCLS is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for the people of Cleveland County. In light of the threat posed by COVID-19, and working closely with Cleveland County Government, we are offering limited services and operating with certain precautions in place."

Those precautions include:

• CCML is asking all patrons to enter and exit through the main doors rather than through the garden entrance.

• Library staff are regularly cleaning and sanitizing all high-traffic areas and practicing recommended personal hygiene safety, including washing their hands regularly.

• Library staff will be wearing masks when dealing with the public.

• Patrons are encouraged, but not required, to wear masks.

• To help ensure social distancing, a limited number of computers will be available for public use.

• Patrons are limited to one hour of computer time daily on the public computers, and to two hours of computer time daily when using one of the four private computer rooms.

• Patrons are encouraged to sanitize their workstations before and after use. Sanitizing wipes are available at the circulation desk.

• No shared headphones are available. Earbuds are available for purchase for $1 per pair.

• Meetings of 11 or more people are suspended until further notice. Meetings of 10 people or fewer are still allowed, but only the large meeting room will be available or public use.

• Library aisles have been marked for one-way traffic, and markings have been placed on the floor to indicate the direction of traffic flow as well as to mark six feet of distance at the circulation desk. All patrons are asked to adhere to these posted directions.

• All patrons are asked to maintain a minimum physical distance from other patrons of at least six feet at all times while in the library.

• All patrons are asked to continue to practice recommended personal sanitizing and safety procedures, including washing hands or using hand sanitizer and covering your coughs and sneezes.

• There will be no in-person programming for the foreseeable future. In 2020, the library's annual summer reading program will be entirely online.

"In addition to being open to the public, we will also continue to offer curbside service at both locations until further notice in order to better serve our more vulnerable patrons," says Guffey.

Both CCML and the Spangler branch are now open on their regular schedules. For CCML this is Monday - Thursday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. and Friday - Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Spangler's hours are Monday - Wednesday from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m., Thursday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

For more information, visit the CCLS website at www.ccml.org.