Following recent announcements that libraries and stores can reopen as the number of cases of coronavirus in the island declines Jess Ward speaks to two libraries and Waterstones’ Douglas store to find out what changes they have had to make.

Book lovers have welcomed news that booksellers and libraries can reopen to the public from this week.

Many will have missed perusing the shelves of their local library or browsing a book shop in search of a good novel to read during the lockdown.

Libraries and bookshops were forced to close alongside all non-essential stores on March 25 as part of the government’s Covid restrictions.

Then on May 18 Chief Minister Howard Quayle announced that a raft of restrictions would be eased and more sectors of the economy would be allowed to return to work. Libraries were included in this.

Waterstones bookshop in Strand Street, Douglas, opened its doors to the public again on Tuesday (May 26).

Bookshop manager Andrew Turner said on the day: ’So far, so good for us. Everyone has been receptive and we have found ourselves fairly busy.

’Lots of customers are very happy to see us open.’

Staff members made sure everything was in place a week ahead of the big reopening to ensure the safety of everyone coming into the store.

Changes include having a maximum of nine people in the store at one time who are asked to respect the two-metre rule.

Hand sanitisers are stationed at the store’s doorways for customers to use before they start shopping.

’Access to the shop is dependant on our customers using the sanitiser, with no exceptions,’ said Andrew.

’We are unable to accept cash payments at this time. We will only accept contactless or card payments for the foreseeable future.

’If you decide against purchasing an item after handling it, we ask that you put it on an available trolley so that we can sanitise and quarantine the item for the suggested 72 hours before we put it back out for sale.

’We ask that parents or guardians please keep an eye on their little ones who might pick up things without placing it on a trolley.

’This may seem extreme but we have to follow these guidelines so that we are able to trade safely.’

The store is unable to order in anything currently due to its warehouse being tied up with dealing with thousands of online orders.

He said: ’We can only sell what we have in stock right now so I would recommend using our click and collect service before venturing into town, so you aren’t disappointed.’

Customers who have placed an online order before the store closed temporarily are requested to contact the store before coming in to avoid disappointment if orders have not come through.

Andrew has asked customers to respect their staff and listen to instructions ’during this awful time’, adding that ’abuse and intimidation won’t be tolerated’.

’Thank you all so much for your patience and understanding during this global crisis and we hope to see you soon,’ he added.

Waterstones is open from 10am until 4pm everyday except for Sunday. Its cafe remains closed. An update on that will be provided soon.

The Family Library has announced it will not be reopening until certain measures were in place to ensure people’s safety. An update will be given at a later date.

Its Mobile Library, however, kick-started its service again on Wednesday, delivering books to borrowers in rural parts of the island or to those who are not able to get to a library themselves. They are using two small cars rather than its much-loved bus due to social distancing requirements.

In the week before they took the service off the road on March 20, they issued 2,700 books to hundreds of borrowers.

This was to enable users to have enough reading material for six weeks. They tried to cover all of their routes and Home Library borrowers, but it was not possible.

Sally Hardman, manager of the Mobile Library Service (MLS), said the team worked from home for the next six to eight weeks where they phoned, emailed, texted and wrote to borrowers to keep in touch as much as they could.

’We also planned for our return and what our service would become whilst still having to maintain social distancing, both for the staff and our borrowers,’ she said.

’Once the announcement was made that libraries could open again we contacted relevant government departments for advice about doing doorstep deliveries, prior to proceeding.

’We select, quarantine and clean books for each borrower, issue them, bag them up and will make a contactless delivery to them, having contacted all our borrowers beforehand to agree a date.

’Returned books are to be quarantined and cleaned under Library Association guidelines.’

The advice given is to quarantine books for 72 hours, but the MLS team quarantine books for a week to be on the safe side.

’Our priority is to maintain safety for both staff and borrowers and to limit contact to a safe distance at all times,’ she said.

’This week we will start two weeks of deliveries and repeat in four weeks if we still cannot take the Mobile Library on the road again.’

Castletown Library is operating a pre-arranged collection/return service as an alternative to the traditional services.

This following a successful pilot scheme with some of its regular members.

It also offers a delivery service to those self-isolating or who are vulnerable.

Librarian Angela Teare said the service has been ’very well received’.

She said: ’The situation will be reviewed regularly and updates given accordingly, but at this point we will not be able to offer the traditional library services, public workspace or access to computer workstations.’