Library resumes pre-pandemic schedule

After more than a year of operating on restricted schedules, Lincoln County Library branches have expanded their hours back to pre-coronavirus levels.

Alyssa Ramirez, library director, said that as of May 3 the Libby branch was open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. The Troy and Eureka branches will be open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

While each branch is open for the same number of hours per week as they were before the pandemic, Ramirez said administrators have slightly shifted the schedules to better accommodate patrons. Rather than operating for limited hours on Saturdays, the branches will now stay open later into the evenings on weekdays.

Patrons can now enjoy eight new public computers in the basement of the Libby branch. The lower level also features new carpeting, furniture and shelving. The renovations came after a pipe burst last May, flooding the basement with four inches of water. Although the catastrophe forced librarians to shutter the branch until August, Ramirez said the flooding had a silver lining.

“To have this much newness in our library, it’s been a long time since that happened,” she said.

The library still has some minor projects — including painting a few beams — to complete in the basement.

The library’s in-person programming will resume on June 1 with the launch of the Summer Reading Program.

To assuage lingering concerns about the virus, Ramirez said librarians will conduct programming outdoors.