Park City Library Reopening to Public

The Park City Library is accepting applications for paid internships. Photo: Park City Library

PARK CITY, Utah. — On Monday the Park City Library will open its doors once again for public services such as wifi, study rooms, tables, computers, and book browsing. The library maintained limited services for about five months during the pandemic, then the holiday season hit. As case numbers skyrocketed, the staff made the decision to close the library’s doors to the public and move entirely to phone and curbside service.

“A library doesn’t feel like a library unless it’s vibrantly filled with people,” said Adriane Herrick Juarez, director of the Park City Library. “For me, that moment of being able to open the door and watch people come back to their library for the first time in such a long time will just be so heartwarming.”

The decision to open came after observing Covid-19 case numbers drop in Summit County and beyond over the past few weeks.

“We are at a safe place with the numbers to be able to do this again,” Herrick Juarez said. “The library is the community living room. To be able to open our doors is a re-fresh for everyone. It signals a first step to going back to normal life.”

The staff has been yearning to let the community back in to wander the stacks and utilize library resources.

“It has been a very long year, but these moments of hope and reopening give us a taste of what’s to come,” Herrick Juarez said. “This is the community’s library and it’s just not the same without them there.”
The library sent the following details in an email yesterday advising patrons about library operations when they re-open:

• Library hours will run from Mon. – Sat. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Curbside pickup hours will be Mon. – Sat. 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
• Please wear masks, socially-distance, and take advantage of hand sanitizer located throughout the building when visiting the library.
• Study rooms, Wi-Fi, and computers are available for 2 hours at a time.
• Library items will still be returned in the book drop outside. They are then quarantined and cleaned before we return them to the shelves.