All Pueblo City-County Library District (PCCLD) locations will close to the public beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 13 in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). All library locations including Barkman Library, Giodone Library, Greenhorn Valley Library, Lamb Library, Lucero Library, Pueblo West Library and Rawlings Library will remain closed to the public until Monday, March 30. The district plans to open for normal business hours on that date, although library events and classes will continue to be suspended and meeting rooms closed until April 15.
This decision has been made in response to the statewide public health emergency declared by Governor Polis earlier this week and today’s national emergency declaration by President Trump. The library closures are temporary and align with those of other local institutions and the recommendations of public health authorities to maximize social distancing now in order to mitigate the community spread of COVID-19.
Concern for the safety of library employees, patrons and the surrounding community are paramount. This action will be disruptive to many community members. However, the district considers public health and safety of utmost importance.
At this time, staff at all PCCLD locations will continue to report to work through Tuesday, March 17. It is important for PCCLD to suspend operations to not only help slow the spread of this virus but to ensure library staff are enacting proper protocol for cleaning and disinfecting library facilities and materials.
PCCLD is coordinating this response with state and local health officials and peer institutions. Library staff is contacting those with upcoming scheduled events and will update any changes on the PCCLD website and on social media channels.
In addition to the closure of all PCCLD library locations, several satellite locations are closed as well. PCCLD satellite locations currently closed are Avondale Elementary and Beulah School of Natural Sciences. PCCLD @ the U (CSU-Pueblo) and PCCLD @ Pueblo Community College are currently open and operating during normal business hours. Please refer to the PCCLD website for updates and changes.
As library staff will not be working at any locations as of March 18, patrons are advised to keep all library materials at home during this time. PCCLD will reset the due date on all materials currently checked out to April 13.
Resources available through The Library @ Home will remain available 24-hours a day, seven days a week to provide residents with access to e-books, e-audiobooks, e-magazines, databases and many other digital resources.
For up-to-date information, please visit PCCLD’s website at www.pueblolibrary.org.