Watertown Library Recommends Patrons Call Ahead

WATERTOWN, MA — Starting on Saturday, Watertown Free Public Library capacity will be temporarily reduced further per Governor Baker’s order restricting users to 25 percent of total capacity.

The Children’s and Teen rooms will be reduced from 20 patrons to 10 patrons simultaneously and the second floor will be reduced from 80 patrons to 40 patrons simultaneously. It is expected that the biggest impact will be on the children’s room which has been the only area in the library to reach capacity, albeit only a handful of times.

“We opened with a capacity already well below the mandated 40 percent limit. We’re taking this further step to ensure that we can remain open for the people who need us” said Library Director, Leone Cole.

While the library is determined to remain open while it is permitted, Library Administration is recommending that people make use of call ahead service, which recently was expanded to add same day contactless pickup.

“We know there are a lot of people who can’t take the risk of coming into a public space and we wanted to give them access to library materials as quickly as the people who can come in and browse, so adding same day service was a no brainer” said Cole.

Emily Miranda, who runs the children’s department, noted that there are times when it gets busy and recommends that people try to avoid those times.

“Our peak hours are on weekdays at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and Saturdays we’ve been getting a lot busier since we’re only open from 9-12. We love seeing our patrons, but we’re hoping that more people will pick different times to come” said Miranda.

Call ahead service is available anytime the library is open. And don’t worry, if you don’t know what you want, librarians are waiting to help with recommendations. Call 617-972-6431. Library staff are taking calls Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.