Book worms rejoice! More Bay Area libraries are reopening as virus numbers continue to plummet.
Among those is the San Leandro Community Library, which opened its doors Wednesday for the first time in 14 months and had a line of book lovers waiting to enter.
“We are thrilled,” acting Library Director Bill Sherwood told KCBS Radio when asked how it feels to reopen after such an extended layoff.
The open doors do come with several restrictions. People are asked to limit their stay to 60 minutes, capacity is limited to 25% and masks are still mandatory.
“It’s much more limited than normal but we feel that is the right way to reopen and slowly rephrase back to what we would think of as a more expanded reopening at some point,” Sherwood said.
The book returns are also open again, and one of the first people to drop-off was San Leandro Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter.
“The library is probably the main point in our city where people refer to as community,” Mayor Cutter said. “So when that opens up now we feel like we’re easing the opening up for everybody.”
She added that the milestone is especially good for the children.
"We're right in time for the summer reading program that will start this summer, so it will help kids get really acclimated into our library systems," Mayor Cutter said.
The library restrictions are likely to remain in place at least until June 15th.