The Columbia-Marion County Public Library is set to reopen June 1 with curbside service only from its temporary location on Main Street.
Branch Manager Mona Swayze said patrons can either call 736-1379, which is a new number for the temporary location, or email smrlcolumbia@gmail.com with the items they want to check out.
She said once the order is ready, someone from the library will contact them. The patron is to pull up to the curb and call the library to let the staff know, and the order will be bought out to the vehicle.
A person can check out up to six books and/or DVDs at a time. Reference material will also be available for checkout. Swayze also said resources from the South Mississippi Regional Library's other two locations can still be requested, but it may take a little longer to receive those.
The Columbia library has been closed since a tornado on Dec. 16 tore the roof off the building. The Marion County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 4 approved the facility moving to its temporary location at the former Rankin Building where Jan Marie’s Upscale Flea Market used to be. The library staff had been working along with Serv-Pro, the clean-up crew, on setting everything up when the coronavirus pandemic hit Mississippi and everything had to shut down. For two months, the library in the temporary location has been in a holding pattern.
But as the state is starting to open back up, Swayze said they are moving forward to open the library. The system's branches in Prentiss and Bassfield are set to reopen Tuesday.
However, like everywhere else, things will be different. All three locations will do curbside checkouts only. No patrons will be allowed inside the buildings.
For the Columbia location, the internet was to be connected Friday. Workers have been back inside the building putting together the shelves and getting ready to start putting the books up.
Every year the library does a Summer Reading Program and that has not changed, Swayze said. The difference will be the program will be done virtually. The program will be posted every Tuesday to the South Mississippi Regional Library’s Facebook page. Every Monday before the program, the library will have packets for parents to pick up for the children to have when they watch the program.
Bids for repairs to the inside are set to begin being published Thursday in The Columbian-Progress. The architect, Steve Cox, estimated the work will take 180 days to be completed. That would put the main branch on Broad Street reopening in early 2021.
