Lessie Foster, 8, looks at manga at the Salem Public Library’s first day open to the public on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
It wasn’t quite a sold-out concert or the midnight premiere of a new Star Wars blockbuster.
But the reopening of the Salem Public Library drew its own crowd Tuesday morning, with about 10 people lined up outside ahead of a 10 a.m. opening, eager to get back to browsing.
“It’s fantastic, it’s been a long wait,” said Marjorie Ferry, a west Salem resident.
Harry Ahn, a teacher at Blanchet Catholic School, said he went to the library once or twice a week before Covid.
Like many of the regular patrons who came back Tuesday, Ahn said he used the library’s curbside service to check out and return books during the closure. But exploring the shelves, discovering new books and finding items his students might be interested in doesn’t work well virtually.
“This is kind of a landmark thing for me,” he said as the doors opened. Salem’s main library on Tuesday resumed regular hours in its temporary location on Broadway Avenue, with patrons free to thumb through books on the shelves and pick up holds. Three computers are available for use inside, though slots are limited to a half-hour.
Marjorie Ferry picks up her holds at the Salem Public Library’s first day open to the public on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
Other library offerings, like in-person events, won’t resume until the library moves back to its newly renovated regular location next to City Hall. That’s expected to happen during the last two weeks of August, with the renovated library opening on Sept. 1.
The library’s west Salem branch will remain closed until September.
Many patrons Tuesday morning clustered near the new book section, scoping out shelves with spines bearing publication dates in 2020 and 2021. Some tried to find books put on hold weeks or months ago.
New books on display at the Salem Public Library’s first day open to the public on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
Dezerae Schworak stood by the shelves of children’s graphic novels as her son Lessie Foster, 8, picked out several Pokemon books. Her two older daughters browsed nearby.
“We used to come all the time, so it was a big change,” Schworak said of the closure.
Take-home activity kits and books checked out through curbside pickup helped her kids stay busy, she said, but they were “super excited, ready to go” when the reopening was announced.
Amorette Drexler said as soon as she found out the library was reopening, she made plans with her kids.
“We said, ‘OK, Tuesday, we’re there, 10 a.m.,” she said. Drexler said they weren’t sure if the library had capacity rules in place (it doesn’t). They didn’t want to risk missing their first chance to comb the shelves, she said.
The family visited the library together weekly before the pandemic, biking over, checking out books and reading them at the nearby Broadway Commons.
Drexler came Tuesday with two of her own children and a friend’s daughter, who grabbed a stack of teen novels off a table.
Dezerae Schworak, right, and son Lessie Foster look at books at the Salem Public Library’s first day open to the public on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
Patrons who weren’t lining up on the first day don’t need to worry yet about the stacks of books they may have checked out last March as Salem shut down.
City librarian Sarah Strahl said due dates will be extended again at least until the move back to the library’s main branch. Overdue fines accumulated before the move back will be forgiven, she said, and that grace period may be extended.
Strahl beamed as she watched library staff push carts between shelves and children clamor for books. She said she wasn’t sure what to expect Tuesday, but had hoped Salem residents would line up to get in the doors.
“It’s nice to have your hopes realized,” she said.
Harry Ahn browses new books at the Salem Public Library’s first day open to the public on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
