Bellingham library workers are back, and here’s when you can resume borrowing materials
Bellingham Public Library staff has returned to the downtown location after it closed last week during a homeless encampment on the building’s lawn, but it will be next week before curbside pickup of materials will resume.
“We’ll have staff back in the building (Monday, Feb. 1), working through the backlog of returns and requests,” Library Director Rebecca Judd told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
Pickup appointments canceled Jan. 22-30 will be rescheduled Feb. 8-10, Judd said.
Judd said library staff will contact patrons whose appointments were canceled during the week-long closure of the library and nearby City Hall.
“In order to provide excellent service, it will take several days for staff to check in the large volume of returned materials and process the incoming requests for items we received over the closure days,” according to a message from Judd that was emailed to patrons and posted at the library website.
New curbside appointments can be scheduled starting Feb 11.
Both buildings closed Jan. 22 when a confrontation flared as city officials tried to clear a 25-foot safety zone around City Hall, where an estimated 100 homeless residents and their supporters pitched dozens of tents and built makeshift structures of pallets and tarps to protest what they said was a lack of shelter for homeless people.
City officials ousted campers on Jan. 28 and dismantled the protest encampment, called Camp 210, using dozens of police in riot gear to cordon off the area as Public Works crews removed trash and belongings left behind.
It was the second time that violence at the camp forced suspension of curbside services since June, when hands-free pickups were offered because steps to curb spread of the the new coronavirus pandemic closed the building to the general public.
“Thank you for your continued patience,” Judd’s statement said. “Please be assured that the library has all hands on deck working as quickly as possible to connect you with your materials.”
Book return slots at the downtown library, 210 Central Ave., opened at 10 a.m. Monday. Books also can be returned at the library’s Fairhaven and Barkley branches.
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 11:41 AM.
