Governor Gretchen Whitmer this week gave libraries and museums the green light to reopen in Michigan effective Monday – with the Traverse Area District Library (TADL) and Dennos Museum Center preparing to bring staff back to their buildings for the first time in three months and gradually transition back into public service.

TADL will begin accepting returns of books and other items that can fit into return slots effective Monday, according to Director Michele Howard. TADL stopped accepting returns in March when the library system shut down, extending all patrons’ due dates and pausing all late fees during the pandemic. “All of the items that were returned right before we closed are still sitting there, so right now we’re trying to get the building back together and get organized,” says Howard.

While TADL patrons will have until July 31 to bring back any items they currently have checked out – and can drop them at any branch, regardless of where they came from – Howard says the library wants to start accepting returns right away to get them back into circulation. Returned items will be quarantined for three days – a new standard safety protocol – and will be available for checkout starting June 15, when TADL will start offering curbside service. Library buildings will remain closed on that date, but patrons can reserve items online or by phone, drive to designated spaces in a branch parking lot, and have their items brought to their cars by staff. Some items won’t be available for curbside checkout – including STEM kits, musical instruments, and other items that can’t fit in a return slot – but Howard expects high demand for other materials. “We have over 2,000 items on hold right now,” she says. “I think it’ll only grow once everyone knows services are available again.”

Peninsula Community Library Director Vicki Shurly is also expecting a major influx of returned items next week, as well as demand for curbside service on June 15. “The last day we were open, there were people checking out the maximum 40 items allowed,” she says. “That’s all floating around out there.” Shurly’s and Howard’s boards have approved phased plans for reopening the library buildings themselves – a step that could still take weeks even with the governor’s green light. “People are under the impression we can just go to back to normal, but we have a lot of safety regulations to follow once we open,” says Shurly. “There will be limited capacity, masks required, hand sanitizer available – pretty much the same thing as other businesses.”

Howard agrees. “Some of our smaller regional libraries are opening (immediately), but it all depends on the community,” she says. “We were taken by surprise. We don’t have the sneeze guards and PPE (personal protection equipment) and social distancing markings and all the things we need yet.” When TADL does reopen its branches, capacity will be limited, social distancing protocols will be in place, and patrons will be encouraged to come in quickly to get items and not linger, says Howard, with some parts of the library (like interactive kids areas) likely temporarily closed.

Both library directors lament that their buildings – which traditionally operate as community hubs, designed to serve as places of interactive gatherings and extended stays– will be limited in those capacities for weeks or months to come. “The essence of a library is to have people feel welcome and to stay, so how now do we meet that mission for our community and also deal with the threats and ambiguities of a pandemic?” Howard says. “It’s confusing and overwhelming sometimes for library staff to think about.” Adds Shurly: “We're a very rural library, and the only public gathering place on Old Mission. The library isn't a library unless there are people in it.”

Still, libraries have done their best to adjust to the pandemic and provide community services while closed. TADL branches amplified their WiFi signals to parking lots so residents could drive in and get free Internet access 24/7. The TADL Woodmere branch used its 3D printer to print face shields and ear savers for local medical workers and community members, lent out WiFi hot spots to BATA and the City of Traverse City, hosted online daily storytelling sessions, and offered virtual Zoom sessions on topics like knitting and parenting. TADL also lent books and puzzles to the Traverse City Senior Center for distribution, while Peninsula Community Library set up a little free library – giving away over 500 books for people to keep permanently – and donated its entire puzzle collection through a pick-up bin on its front porch. Libraries anticipate continuing a mix of virtual and in-person programming through the transition, according to Howard and Shurly.

The Dennos Museum Center is also preparing to cautiously transition back into operation. Executive Director Craig Hadley sits on Whitmer’s Arts & Culture Committee, an advisory group of museum and arts executives helping to create guidelines for reopening libraries and museums. Hadley says Dennos staff will return to the museum Monday – the first time in three months they’ll set foot on the property – and begin working on safety and security plans for reopening. Most museums will be following a “phased approach” to reopening, says Hadley, such as limiting capacity to 50 percent, installing social distancing measures, and using contactless payment methods.

Hadley notes that since the Dennos is a museum “embedded” within a higher-education institution, Northwestern Michigan College, it is in a gray zone when it comes to reopening. While Whitmer has said museums can reopen because the state is now in phase four of its reopening plan, higher-education institutions aren’t supposed to reopen until phase five. “We’re straddling two phases, so the guidelines are difficult for us to parse out,” Hadley says. Still, Hadley says he is “optimistic” the Dennos can reopen in June, provided museum staff can obtain adequate PPE and implement proper safety protocols. Museum events like concerts and film screenings likely won’t be realistic anytime soon, but smaller interactive events, exhibits, and museum tours are on the table. As with libraries and other businesses transitioning slowly back to normalcy, Hadley says the Dennos will likely offer a “hybrid” of virtual and in-person programming going forward.

“As we get back into the museum, continuing some virtual programs might make sense,” says Hadley. “It’ll be online programming and virtual tours and then opening to the public and doing some limited on-site engagement and programs. So much of it depends on how many staff can be on-site, figuring out volunteers, and getting all the pieces that historically have made our programs tick.”