HomeMy Public PortalAboutmay20curbside� IU
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Watertown Free Public Library
Library Director
Leone E. Cole
TO: Library Board of Trustees
FROM: Leone E. Cole, Library Director
DATE: May 1, 2020
RE: Curbside pickup
I am proposing that we start curbside pickup of items for our patrons. I have run this by the Town
Manager who vetted it with the police and fire chiefs and the Health Department Director. They have
given the go ahead if we want to proceed. I have also emailed James Lonergan, the Director of the Board
of Library Commissioners to ask about possible legal implications, and got this response:
I'd like to follow up on your question about curbside service. Right now we don't know of any legal
restrictions on the state level around curbside service at libraries. The one thing that I would highly
recommend is to check with your local municipal leaders and health department to let them know what
you are planning, and to see if they have any legal concerns around your plans.
The following libraries are doing curbside or delivery: Woburn, Raynham, Groton, and Falmouth.
Here is how it would work:
Library patrons can choose any items that show as available in the catalog. They call the library and tell
us which items they want (with a limit of items TBD). Items will then be charged to their card
immediately. We pull the items from the shelves and place in paper bags with an order number which is
the last four digits of their library card. During certain hours, people pull into the parking lot and pull
into a numbered spot. They call and tell us their order number and the number of the parking spot. We
place the paper bag of items in their trunk. We will require that they do not exit the car, they keep the
windows up, and their trunk must be open. That way we make it a completely contactless transaction. If
they will be arriving without a car, we will need to know ahead of time and leave the bag in a spot
outside. This service would be for Watertown residents only.
I look forward to our discussion about this idea.
123 Main Street Watertown, MA 02472-4478
617.972.6434 watertownlib.org