We here at the Library have deeply missed seeing the smiling faces of all of our regular library users. We are pleased to announce that we are tentatively scheduled to reopen our doors Monday, June 1, to the public.

Like other public facilities reopening, we are making modifications and putting restrictions in place to encourage continued social distancing and to ensure the safety of everyone who visits our Library. We will be operating on reduced hours during the first phase of the reopening; the Comfort Public Library will be open Tuesday and Thursday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Maysville, Pollocksville, and Trenton Public Libraries will be open Tuesday through Friday 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and the Greene County Public Library, Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library, La Grange Public Library, and Pink Hill Public Library will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

We will still be offering curbside pickup to anyone who requests it, alongside regular circulation of materials. We will also provide basic copying, scanning, faxing, notary services, and printing via emails sent to nrl@neuselibrary.org. We will also provide access to a reduced number of well-spaced public computers limited to 90 minutes per day, with a priority for users seeking employment, applying for unemployment benefits, enhancing job skills, completing small business related tasks, and other economic development/assistance tasks. Some services will still be unavailable for now, including meeting and study rooms, exam proctoring, and access to newspapers/periodicals. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we will fully restore these services when circumstances allow. We will also be complying with all regulations on how many individuals are allowed in the building at one time.

We have not been idle during the time the Library has been closed; several projects have been completed, particularly in the Children’s Room at the Headquarters Library, including reorganization of the collection, new decals decorating the wall, wall painting, relocation of furniture to create more space for activities, and more. Staff also planted flowers outside the Library and brightened and enhanced the exterior of the Library. Library staff have also been planning for providing specialized book displays that focus on specific topics and books selected by local influencers; stay tuned in the coming months to see those displays unveiled over time.

Library staff also took this opportunity to begin offering virtual programming, such as video storytimes, adult craft demonstrations, and more. Staff will continue to offer this programming through the Library’s social media accounts; unfortunately we will not be able to immediately resume our regular in-person programming schedule. However, we do plan to continue to offer adult, young adult, and children’s summer reading programs; the children’s summer reading program will use outdoor venues such as Pearson Park to safely host programming and the adult summer reading has been pushed back to become the Adult Fall Reading program. We are greatly looking forward to these programs; stay tuned for more information as they approach or call 252-527-7066, Ext. 133 after June 1 to register for children’s or young adult summer reading.

We would like to tell all of our library users how grateful we are for their support and their patience during this time. Because our primary role is to serve the community through freedom of access to information and services, the balancing of continuing that access with ensuring public health has been a unique challenge. We hope that as we move into this new phase of services we will be able to continue serving the public while maintaining a high level of safety. For more information on library services, please call 252-527-7066, Ext. 134.