Lambton County Library has successful first week with curbside pickup service

Wyoming, ON - Lambton County Library has loaned 4,317 items to over 1,200 borrowers in the first week of offering its new contactless curbside pickup service, designed to meet the provincial requirements to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Lambton County Library began offering curbside pickup service at 13 of its locations on Monday, June 8, 2020. After reserving materials at their desired location, library cardholders receive a call advising them that their reservation is ready for pick up. Strict health and safety guidelines including designated parking spaces, or standing spaces for pedestrians, and updated hygiene procedures for staff have been put in place to minimize the risk to patrons and employees.

"Since March, we have heard from many patrons that they miss their trips to their local library," said Darlene Coke, Manager, Library Services. "We are pleased to see a strong response to this new service in its first week and are encouraged by the public's continued interest in accessing library services."
Cardholders are reminded that all items, including any books or DVDs that were loaned before the provincial order to close in March, must now be returned to a drop box at any of the 25 Lambton County Library locations. Returned materials are quarantined for 72 hours after drop boxes are emptied and before they are marked as returned. As a result, items may remain on a cardholder's record for up to ten days. The accumulation of fines has been temporarily suspended during this period.

Libraries remain closed to the public. To reserve materials, cardholders can:
1. Use the library's catalogue at lclibrary.ca or the Iguana Library Mobile App;
2. Call one of the 13 participating locations if they have a particular title they would like to reserve; or
3. Use the Lambton County Library Readers' Advisory Service to have library employees choose items based on the cardholder's preferences. Cardholders can access this service by filling out the form found at www.lclibrary.ca/curbside-pickup or calling 519-337-3291 ext. 5909 or 1-866-324-6912 ext. 5909 from Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., and Saturday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

In addition to a positive response to its curbside pickup offering, the use of Lambton County Library's electronic resources has grown since the March facility closure.

"In May, 3,318 users borrowed 20,751 eBooks and eAudiobooks online, and this is the most activity our online platform has experienced since we introduced the service a number of years ago," said Coke. "In addition to eBooks and eAudiobooks, over 210 people took online courses in May, and there was an increase of over 35,000 searches on Ancestry Library Edition, which remains free to access at home until June 30, 2020."

Libraries remain closed to the public at this time, but cardholders are encouraged to continue to use the contactless curbside pickup service and eResources. More information on both can be found at lclibrary.ca.

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Please contact:
Darlene Coke Manager, Library Services County of Lambton 519-845-3324 ext. 5238 darlene.coke@county-lambton.on.ca