E. Bonner Co. Libraries to reopen Sept. 1

By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff

East Bonner County Library District facilities will reopen to the public Tuesday, Sept. 1, exactly one month after closing due to coronavirus concerns.

The shift back to curbside services on Aug. 1 closely followed a July 28 protest outside the Sandpoint branch of the library, when law enforcement officers responded to a group of people attempting to enter the building without required face coverings.

The Sandpoint branch of the East Bonner County Library. Courtesy photo.

The library board of trustees updated its mask policy during an Aug. 24 meeting, adding a definition for an acceptable face covering after one demonstrator attempted to enter the building in a mesh mask during the July protest. The refined policy requires that patrons wear a mask or face covering “that covers the mouth and nose at all times, and meets CDC guidelines.” 

Those who need ADA accommodations are asked to contact the library director and are still required to practice social distancing while visiting library facilities. Children younger than 2 years old are exempt from the mask rule.

“Any person(s) in violation of this policy will also be considered to be in violation of the Library Code of Conduct and may be subject to potential action up to and including legal trespass,” library code concludes.

To learn what hours each library location will be open starting Sept. 1, visit ebonnerlibrary.org.

While we have you ...

... if you appreciate that access to the news, opinion, humor, entertainment and cultural reporting in the Sandpoint Reader is freely available in our print newspaper as well as here on our website, we have a favor to ask. The Reader is locally owned and free of the large corporate, big-money influence that affects so much of the media today. We're supported entirely by our valued advertisers and readers. We're committed to continued free access to our paper and our website here with NO PAYWALL - period. But of course, it does cost money to produce the Reader. If you're a reader who appreciates the value of an independent, local news source, we hope you'll consider a voluntary contribution. You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.

You can contribute at either Paypal or Patreon.

Contribute at Patreon Contribute at Paypal

You may also like...

Close [x]

Want to support independent local journalism?

The Sandpoint Reader is our town's local, independent weekly newspaper. "Independent" means that the Reader is locally owned, in a partnership between Publisher Ben Olson and Keokee Co. Publishing, the media company owned by Chris Bessler that also publishes Sandpoint Magazine and Sandpoint Online. Sandpoint Reader LLC is a completely independent business unit; no big newspaper group or corporate conglomerate or billionaire owner dictates our editorial policy. And we want the news, opinion and lifestyle stories we report to be freely available to all interested readers - so unlike many other newspapers and media websites, we have NO PAYWALL on our website. The Reader relies wholly on the support of our valued advertisers, as well as readers who voluntarily contribute. Want to ensure that local, independent journalism survives in our town? You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.