As early as next week, the Canby Public Library, Civic Center and other city offices are set to reopen for indoor service to the public for the first time in more than a year.
The library, along with all other public-facing city offices, closed in March 2020 at the onset of the pandemic.
And though the library and most other services have resumed in modified or remote fashion, such as curbside pickup for borrowed materials and virtual storytimes, Canby buildings have generally remained closed to the public since then.
That is set to change on April 1 — no joke — when in-person visits will resume for the Canby Public Library, from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays.
Services will include browsing, holds pickup, self-checkout, returns, card services and mobile printing. In-person events, computers, meeting rooms, seating, copy services and in-person payment are not available at this time.
Face coverings will be required for all services, according to state guidelines, and capacity will be limited to 25% occupancy or 50 people — whichever is smallest.
The library is also soon to expand its curbside hours, to 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays.
Other local government offices, including City Hall, the police department and municipal court, are set to reopen to the public next month as well, according to City Administrator Scott Archer, who gave an update on officals’ plans at the last council meeting.
The city-owned Canby Swim Center, which offered extremely limited access at times last year on a reservation-only basis, will also reopen for increased capacity, Archer said.
“There will still be significant Covid safety protocols we have to adhere to,” Archer explained, including requiring masks, maintaining distance between staff and citizens, and sanitizing protocols.
Both the library and other city facilities are taking a phased approach to reopening, which will move forward as long as coronavirus metrics for the area continue to trend downward.
“We want to have a phased approach, where we’re ramping up to what will, hopefully, be a full reopening with normal operations,” Archer said.
Wednesday night’s meeting also included a discussion about returning to live and in-person Canby City Council meetings, with most seeming to prefer a hybrid approach until all elected officials and staff who must attend have the opportunity to receive the vaccine if they want it.
