Nothing can compare to browsing in a quiet space, surrounded by thousands of books, magazines, newspapers and other material in shelves that stand nearly twice as tall as the average person.
For the past year, Gilroy residents, looking to check out a good read for a few weeks, have been forced to do so through a computer screen. The process, while efficient, has missed an integral part of the library experience, that feeling of discovery when finding an interesting book buried in a distant corner of a shelf in the back of the room.
But beginning April 19, that experience will return.
The Gilroy Library will reopen to in-person browsing, after a year of curbside pickups and limited lobby services. With Santa Clara County now under the Orange Tier of the state’s Covid-19 reopening plan, libraries across the county can reopen at up to 50 percent of capacity.
“We’re really excited to be able to welcome people back,” said Gilroy Community Librarian Cassandra Wong. “It’s the tenet of what we do: providing services to our community.”
The library experience has been modified under Covid-19 safety guidelines. Visitors are asked to limit their stay up to one hour, and must be Covid-19 symptom-free, wear a face covering and maintain social distance.
Furniture access will be limited, and computers will be available in a socially distant manner. Hand sanitizer is also available throughout the library.
Wong said the library has used the past year to strengthen its collection as well as offer robust virtual programming.
It added free wi-fi access to its parking lot, as well as printing services, where residents can print documents from home and pick them up at the library. In recent weeks, the library reopened its lobby for patrons to browse a limited selection, pick up holds and access computers.
Virtual bilingual storytelling and other classes and workshops have been popular, Wong said, and the number of people checking out materials online continues to grow.
With the reopening, the library will still offer contactless curbside service appointments, where a staff member will bring holds to a patron’s vehicle. Appointments can be made online or by calling 408.540.3947.
Beginning April 19, the Gilroy Library will be open Monday-Saturday from 1-6pm.
For information, visit sccld.org/informed.
New community librarian
Wong took over as Gilroy’s community librarian in August, following Lani Yoshimura’s retirement after a 46-year career with the Gilroy Library and Santa Clara County Library District.
Growing up in the South Bay, Wong said she connected with her librarians as a child, being inspired by how welcoming they were and their efforts to share information in a digestible manner.
That is something Wong said she wants to continue at the Gilroy Library.
“They really empowered me to make choices on whatever I wanted,” she said. “That’s something all the librarians here take really seriously. This is what we’re here for: to provide that service.”
Earning her master’s degree in library information sciences at Simmons College in Boston, Wong has been a librarian since 2013.
She said she is excited to be a part of the Gilroy community, and she sees the library playing an important role in serving as a bridge between residents and the many organizations and resources in the city.
“People do amazing work here and they’re so proud of their community,” she said. “To come into that is really an awesome experience.”
