The Allen County Public Library began curbside delivery for hold materials today at most of its locations due to a demand from customers.
Allen County Public Library customers can now pick up their holds at most of the library branches around the county. Customers with hold requests waiting for them can pull into the library parking lot and have the materials placed in their trunks.
Stephanny Smith, spokeswoman for the library, says the process was in response to a need from customers. At the beginning of May, the library sent out surveys asking what they wanted moving forward. She says more than 7,000 people responded.
“Overwhelmingly, what we heard from them was ‘we want access to books again. You know, we really appreciate all the virtual resources and the online programming, that’s been great. But we just want to feel books in our hands again.’”
Smith says they did a quiet launch of the service last week at a few branches to test it.
The pick up process limits the amount of contact between staff and patrons. Anyone picking up materials can call a number when they arrive and a staff member will put the materials in their trunk. For those on foot or bicycles, they’ll deposit the items in a bag outside of the pick-up door.
For more information on when each location will have pick up hours, visit the Allen County Public Library website.
