Because of the increase in COVID-19 cases in Saline County, the Salina Public Library is reducing its hours and expanding pickup service.

According to the library, with the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Saline County, Salina Public Library is temporarily changing building access hours to help protect the public and library staff. The library building will be open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Pickup Service will be available during those times in the north lobby, as well as from 2-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 2-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

“We take the safety of the community and our staff very seriously. Because the library acts as a gathering place for a diverse population, we are continuously evaluating the risk level,” Melanie Hedgespeth, library director, said. “We are offering services in non-traditional ways, including a pickup service that gets books and movies into the hands of patrons with limited contact.”

Pickup Service allows library cardholders to place holds on items they wish to check out by logging into their online accounts or by calling the library at (785) 825-4624. Once library staff has collected the requested items, they will contact patrons to arrange a pickup date and time block. Items will be left on a table in the north entrance of the library labeled with the patron’s last name and first initial.

The library’s digital services are available 24/7. Access to e-books, audiobooks and more are available through the library’s website — salinapubliclibrary.org. Learning options like Creativebug, which features a wide range of arts and crafts instruction, and MobyMax, an interactive learning platform for K-8, are also available through the library’s website.

Free grab-and-go lunches for youth, a partnership with St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church, will continue to be available from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on the west side of the library building. The community can participate in Summer at the Library by recording the number of books they read on the library’s website. As of June 19, 4,016 books have been read. Registration for CLASS offerings via Zoom, including yoga, Zumba Gold and origami, is open now at salina.coursestorm.com.

The library will continue to monitor the situation and announce updates as decisions are made. Patrons are asked not to visit the library if they are feeling ill. Face masks are recommended and frequent use of hand sanitizer and hand washing are encouraged.