When time comes, Du Quoin library will reopen in phases

When the stay-at-home order for Illinoisans is finally lifted, the Du Quoin Public Library will not just throw the doors back open.

Instead, the library will take a phased-in approach to reopening the library and making materials available again, said Library Director Kristina Benson.

"We will transition," Benson said Thursday, adding the library staff will come back first and the library will probably do curbside delivery for a while.

"We have to be incremental in our approach," she added.

When COVID-19 first loomed, the library closed and for a while staffers were offering books to patrons at the curbside. They quit doing that when the stay-at-home order came down from Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

"We wrap all our books in mylar plastic," Benson said, "and we're concerned with how long mylar can hold the virus.

"We are approaching this with an abundance of caution," she added. "I don't want to put our patrons in danger."

Meanwhile, there has been a "vast" increase in patrons using the library's online resources, although those resources were already heavily used prior to the pandemic, Benson said. The electronic magazines "circulate like hot cakes," she added.

The biggest problem for students, particularly high school students, is the lack of consistent internet service, Benson said. Some students have discovered if they park outside the library their computer can connect to the library's strong 200 megabyte signal.