OK, we’re ready. Let’s DO this.

Those were my thoughts recently, when, after months of reevaluating everything we do and how we do it, we felt like we were ready to open Pendleton Community Public Library back to its full capacity.

We want to thank you for bearing with us while we worked out the kinks of contactless pickup, hold notifications, amended hours, etc. We know it was confusing to our patrons. Heck, it was confusing to us at times! But, staff worked incredibly hard to get us to this point, and we did the best we could.

I am happy to announce that as of this month, the library is back to its normal hours. Beginning this month, we are open 7 days a week — 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays though Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Of course, we will continue to operate with the safety of staff and patrons at the forefront of our minds. We will continue to wear masks and provide them to patrons who do not have them. We will keep checking out sanitized keyboards and mice to our computer users. Acrylic shields, hand sanitizer, frequent cleaning, and of course, social distancing will still be our norm.

But, all of the regular services of the library will be available to you.

We are still finishing up some construction, but we are nearing the end. Some areas are still blocked off, and we are still awaiting our new furniture, which is expected to arrive in November.

We have made some really terrific improvements to the library over the past six months, and we cannot wait for you to see them. You’ll see that we’ve been busy.

The most significant improvement is the addition of 11 new study and meeting spaces.

So, if you need a change of scenery when teleworking or e-learning, visit one of our new study rooms. We are sure it will be your new favorite place, and we hope it will be your home away from home.

Welcome back!

Hobbs is director of Pendleton Community Public Library.