Please note:
This post is no longer being actively updated. An up-to-date list of changes at your library is available here.
The libraries reopened with limited hours and services on June 3.
An update from the director, May 29, 2020:
Like other businesses in our communities, the library is reopening with limited access and services. Though it won’t be the same experience that you’ve been accustomed to, I hope that it provides a bit of normalcy and enjoyment for you. We will reopen on Wednesday, June 3. The bookmobile will resume visiting the communities of Auxvasse, Hallsville, Harrisburg, Rocheport, Sturgeon and the North County Shopping Center in Columbia the first week of June.
For the time being, our library facilities will be open the same hours as our curbside service. Since our Holts Summit patrons have been using the Library-To-Go lockers to pick up their holds, we will return to the 20 hours/week schedule in place before we closed at that location. We will be tracking the number of people in the buildings and limiting visits to one hour.
To make your visit as safe as possible, library staff have been working hard to make lots of changes to ensure social distancing at the computers and check-out stations. Please wear a face mask, as our staff are required to, when you visit.
At this time, it is still not safe for large numbers of people to gather at one time in one place, so we will not be offering story times or other library events this summer. However, we invite you to participate in Summer Reading and Books by Snail. You can sign up for Summer Reading online beginning June 15.
An update from the director, May 12, 2020:
As part of our phased-in reopening plans, book drops are now open. This includes the book drops at the libraries, in the parking lots near the Library-To-Go lockers and at all the other locations in Columbia. All returned materials will be subject to a three-day quarantining process. Please note this will result in a delay in staff checking in your items, and returned items may not be removed from your account until at least three days after their return. Thank you for holding onto all those library materials while we’ve been closed.
You can begin placing holds online for physical materials beginning May 15. Our library buildings will remain closed and bookmobiles won’t be making visits yet, but we are setting up curbside pickup for holds at the Callaway County, Columbia and Southern Boone County Public Libraries. People in southern Callaway and in northern Boone can pick up holds from the Library-To-Go lockers in Holts Summit and Hallsville. This excludes our early learning kits and book discussion kits, however, since many of those items are difficult to sanitize between each use. Curbside pickup will begin Monday, May 18.
Staff continue to strategize about innovative ways to offer the services you’ve come to expect from your public library.
A message from the director, April 30, 2020:
All Daniel Boone Regional Library facilities remain closed due to concerns for public and staff safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are actively working on our plan to reopen safely, which we will do in phases.
Our branches will reopen to the public no later than June 1. At that time, occupancy limits may still be in force. Following state and local guidelines, we are determining how the public can safely enter and use our buildings while maintaining social distancing.
Please know that we are all anxious to see you again, and to provide the excellent library services that you have come to expect. Please continue to access the library’s digital branch, www.dbrl.org, where you can check out eBooks and audiobooks; stream music, TV shows and movies; and refer to other online resources for adults and children.
Due dates have been extended on physical items and holds have been suspended. AARP Tax Aide sessions, passport services, bookmobile stops and book sales are suspended during this time, as are other library programs and services.
Please note the following accommodations that we are making during this difficult time.
- The maximum number of renewals for most items has been increased from 3 to 5.
- Due dates have been extended to June 30 for physical items currently checked out.
- Holds placed prior to March 17 will not expire. Beginning May 18, holds on physical materials can be picked up at a curbside pickup location.
- Automatic card expirations will be delayed to allow as much online access as possible.
- The maximum monthly number of check-outs on Hoopla has increased from 10 to 15.
- Hoopla is offering a collection of Bonus Borrows that do not count against the monthly check-out limit.
- The daily streaming limit on Freegal has temporarily been removed so patrons can access unlimited music streaming.
- The maximum monthly number of check-outs on Kanopy has increased from 6 to 9.
- Library staff will increase our holdings of eBooks and digital audiobooks.
- The library’s Wi-Fi is still on. Patrons may access the Columbia Public Library’s free Wi-Fi while parking in the library’s south parking lot.
For information and updates about COVID-19, please see our COVID-19 topic guide for a list of resources.
The City of Columbia and Boone County are coordinating the community’s mass care and human services response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For up-to-date information about social service and healthcare resources for residents of Boone County, please visit Get Help (COVID-19).
This page will be updated as additional information is available.
