HADLEY — Opportunities for the public to visit the new Hadley Public Library for the first time begin Monday.
While library staff have been working from the nearly finished $8.2 million building since November, filling orders from patrons for pickup and delivery, visitors have not been allowed inside due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the Select Board’s unanimous permission this week, residents will be able to register to use either the small meeting room or the larger community space named in memory of former Select Board member Kate Nugent.
Library Director Patrick Borezo said the request to accommodate the public in this way was made to both the trustees for the library and Select Board after people cooped up in their homes repeatedly called the library.
“We’re finding some demand from people who are looking for spaces to study outside the home,” Borezo said.
Wi-Fi is available and the rooms, with a cap of four people at a time in the larger space, will be cleaned and sanitized after each use. Everyone will wear masks and social distance while in the building.
“It’s the next step in opening,” said Jo-Ann Konieczny, chairwoman of the trustees.
The library has seen significant demand, with the amount of materials circulating in December down just 25% from December 2019, Borezo said.
Konieczny said staff had hoped to give brief tours of the building to the public. That is put off until the region’s COVID-19 numbers drop.
“We can’t wait for people to see it,” Konieczny said.
— Scott Merzbach
