All MOCO Libraries Now Reopened, With Final Six Debuting Tuesday

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — The last six public libraries that remained closed for browsing during the pandemic have now reopened in Montgomery County. The following are the six that are welcoming the public back in Tuesday for the first time since March 2020:

• Chevy Chase Library
• Kensington Park Library
• Noyes Library for Young Children
• Maggie Nightingale Library
• Twinbrook Library
• White Oak Library

Montgomery County's 14 other libraries reopened in waves — some on June 1 and others on June 14. Germantown Library closed for everything other than book drop-offs on April 24 for a "refresh" project.

During the pandemic all browsing was closed and libraries had Hold-to-Go service, which let patrons check out books with contactless pickup. Now, food and drinking will not be permitted and patrons are asked to sanitize or wash their hands before going to the libraries, but social distancing measure and capacity limits will not be in place.

The libraries shifted to virtual programming while they were closed to the public, which included children's storytimes, yoga, book talks and writers' clubs, in addition to renting out hot spots and offering a virtual "Ask-a-Librarian" service.

On June 1, the following libraries opened:

• Connie Morella (Bethesda)
• Gaithersburg
• Marilyn Praisner (Burtonsville)
• Olney
• Rockville Memorial
• Silver Spring

They were chosen to reopen because of their size and location in the county. Two weeks later, on June 14, eight more libraries reopened:

• Aspen Hill Library
• Damascus Library
• Davis Library
• Little Falls Library
• Long Branch Library
• Potomac Library
• Quince Orchard Library
• Wheaton Library