The Force is with us – Dallas libraries open again!

 It seems appropriate that Dallas public libraries are open for business again on May 4. Truly, the Force is with us – or at least making a visit. In some ways, of course, the libraries had been there all along, doing business for nearly a year during the pandemic with multitudes of online and on-call programs. But today, for the first time in months, I could actually walk inside them. Library card in hand, I visited the three branches closest to me – Skillman Southwestern, Audelia Road, and Lakewood.

What had I missed? Browsing the stacks! Cleverly devised book displays! Kids’ books by the armload! Magazines! And income tax forms, for people taking advantage of this year’s filing deadline extended to May 17.

Sure, I’d done a lot of scrolling through the catalogue, dutifully placing orders in my online account. Scheduling pickup dates and locations, wending through a phone system that had never been intended to manage the level of traffic it received from desperate bookaholics. Not to diss all that, but nothing beats being there. In rooms crammed with physical, touchable books.

Things aren’t yet exactly as they had been pre-pandemic. Masks are required. So is social distancing. And although all branches offered hand sanitizer, at only one did an on-duty cop insist that I use the sanitizer before entering the building. (Actually, rules require sanitizing upon every entry as well as before using the computers.)

And yes, the cops. Polite but vigilant. At first I thought, wow, they must be expecting crazed bibliophiles to commandeer the entire library contents and escape to happy reading ever after land. A librarian assured me that the “security guards,” as he termed them, were only there, perhaps temporarily, to assess the situation. And sure, I could imagine hordes of the unmasked swarming to hog the computers. Or simply swarming, since these smaller branches currently have a 25-person capacity limit. The multi-story Central library branch downtown has a limit of 25 visitors per floor, for floors 1-5 and 8 only.  

There are several other caveats. Hours are limited, generally to 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. or 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., and only Tuesday-Saturday. (See the library site for full details.) No Sunday or Monday openings. The Renner Frankford branch, under repair following damage from February’s freeze, is closed until further notice, and the lovely Bookmarks children’s library branch in NorthPark Center is only available for the Library to Go book pickup service, with no use of its learning computers or sit-down story space.

And about sitting. Just don’t. And don’t even think about snoozing. The branches I visited had chairs cordoned off. (Restrooms are open – thank goodness.) Computer use is limited to a single 90-minute session per day, per user. Users can, however, print, make copies and send faxes.

It may not be exactly normal yet – if anybody still remembers what “normal” is. But it’s a great improvement. And for those still worried about COVID (although aren’t we all, at least a little), scheduled curbside pickup of books is still available.