Per the Governor’s orders, Chester County will be moving to the Yellow Phase on Friday, June 5. For the Chester County Library and the Henrietta Hankin Branch, this means that library staff will be able to enter the buildings for the first time since March 13. We are very excited to begin the process of reopening the libraries. 

We have been working hard behind the scenes to provide you with resources online through our blog, website, and social media.  We will continue to provide information about databases, access to eMaterials, and a selection of virtual programming, as we did while we were unable to access the buildings.  In addition, we have developed a thorough plan for reopening to ensure the safety of staff and patrons.

Although staff will be allowed in the buildings on June 5, the libraries will remain closed to the public for the next several weeks. While in the buildings, the staff will be quarantining and processing returned items, moving furniture and workstations to ensure social distancing, setting up a quarantine area, designating traffic patterns, and developing a process to provide curbside pick-up as soon as possible.  

Effective June 5, we will begin to accept returns of materials in the book drops. However, due to the backlog of materials we are experiencing, it will take a week or two before they are checked in and removed from your records.

Please know that we are doing everything we can to help ensure the safety and well-being of our staff and patrons, and we ask that you continue to be patient while we work toward reopening.