First of all, a massive welcome back to our library service. The past few months have proved such a very strange and surreal time, and it’s been so very unusual for all of us in many different ways.

We have missed all our wonderful customers and even though the building has been standing quiet for some months, rest assured lots has been going on behind the scenes ready to reopen safely and Covid secure. We have opened our doors ready for quick book picking only for the time being but we will let you know of any changes as they happen. Cockerton library at the moment is open limited hours just for returning items.

Reflecting back on the time we have had away from normality (for some) we hope you managed to take positives from it, (photo of my allotment above where I spent a fair bit of time over lockdown)  and we know many of you were so grateful and happy to receive a book delivery from us (lots of thank you notes are displayed up in lending library) and your lovely comments have really boosted our morale as the staff are getting back to work and we are all getting used to the new normal. We have tried our hardest to make borrowing as easy and straight forward as we can, and we are all here to support you and help, so please don’t feel anxious about returning to our buildings once more. There are a few differences, a few more signs to look at and hand cleansing at the door. We will be helping you use self service machines to issue/return your books as much as we can and books will be quarantined for 72 hours to ensure we are meeting safe guidelines.

Most of our other services aren’t back yet, so please bear with us and we will let you know when they are. You will also notice the library staff will be sometimes wearing PPE like this, similar to what you may have seen in shops etc so don’t be alarmed if we look a little different to usual!

There is always a member of staff on hand working on the service desk for enquiries, and someone will welcome you into the building and help you at the self-service machines so please don’t feel you’re on your own. We can still request books and access your account so if you’re unsure please ask and we will do our best to help.

During lockdown our staff have been showing us what they’ve been getting up to during their free time and even though sometimes it’s been tough we are trying to remember the nicer experiences of this time. I personally have had lots of time reviewing books on social media and have joined the bookstagrammers on instagram, regularly reading books for publishers. This is something I would never have done if I hadn’t had some time to dedicate to it and I’ve met lots of like-minded book lovers which has been brilliant for me and helped keep me sane whilst juggling home schooling with three children!

It’s been fun taking photo content of the books have read and putting them in pretty displays etc to make it look enticing to the prospective readers and help promote the books for their authors.

So we are looking forward to catching up with you soon and hope you pay us a visit in the near future. Stay safe.