BUCKHANNON – The Charles W. Gibson Library is undergoing a few layout changes but will continue to operate under their regular hours.
Director of the Charles W. Gibson Public Library Catherine Norko said the library is requiring patrons to wear masks; is offering curbside pickup service and has started quarantining returned materials.
“We are quarantining incoming materials for a minimum of three days, and then they get put back on the shelf,” Norko said. “In order to keep track of that, we’re asking people to use the drop.”
The library’s hours will stay the same, opening at 9 a.m. and closing at 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and being open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
“The main thing we have been working on is rearranging the inside of the building,” Norko said. “We have flipped the large print and the fiction collections, and we are working on the children’s department.”
She said library officials were thinking about changing up the children’s department so it would be more organized and easier to find materials.
“We had a juvenile/YA conglomerate collection, so it was really hard for kids to find books that were age-appropriate, so we’re currently pulling out the kids’ books and bringing them downstairs,” Norko said. “The young adult books are staying upstairs and then we’re going to have an intermediate age level, where you are probably a little too old for the books down in the children’s department, but you may be a little too young for the YAs.”
She said their summer display is currently a murder mystery display because a couple people have cleaned out the library of the summer-themed books, but they will probably be back in a week or week-and-a-half.
Norko said the Gibson Library tends to remind its patrons of a quaint, downtown book store from past decades.
“I think people like to come here for the atmosphere,” Norko said. “I think we’re a small friendly little library, a lot of people come in here, and they’re reminded of the old bookstore, and I think a lot of people are nostalgic for that feeling. I think a lot of people are looking for a nice quiet little library to come and enjoy.”
The Gibson library is supported in part by a municipal levy that’s up for a vote every five years and overwhelmingly passed in the June 9, 2020 City of Buckhannon Election. Find the library online by clicking here or visit it at 105 E. Main St. in Buckhannon.
