Mission Viejo Library Closing Monday, March 16 However Many Services Will Still Be Available

From the City of Mission Viejo:

March 15, 2020

As of 6:00 PM on Monday, March 16, 2020, the Mission Viejo Library will be closed to the public until at least March 31. We have been monitoring guidance from the State Government and the Orange County Health Care Agency, and have been following recommendations closely. Earlier this week we cancelled all of our events, programs, and meetings, as well as suspending walk-in Passport operations and closing our Friends of the Library Bookstore and our volunteer-supported Genealogy services. We removed about half the seating in the Library and shut off half the computers to allow for increased social distancing within the facility.

However, we are clearly seeing the difficulty of maintaining social distance even in a large public facility. For the past few days the Library has been even busier than usual, and while we understand the desire to stock up on materials or find a place outside the house to study, we have a responsibility to help our local community “flatten the curve” of the pandemic, protect our vulnerable populations, and ensure that our health care agencies have the capacity to meet demand.

Please rest assured that you will not accrue fines or lose holds due to the closure. We will extend all due dates until the Library re-opens. We will be offering curb-side drop-off and pick-up of materials from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Tuesday - Thursday, and 10:00 am - 5:00 pm on Friday. If you feel comfortable driving up to the Library, a staff member can hand you your holds or take your items for check-in. If you prefer not to stop at the Library, you can suspend your holds without losing your place in the holds queue.

Staff will answer questions by phone or email as well as help locate materials and place holds, and we have many online resources to assist with your research and entertainment needs while we are closed:

• We offer free downloadable books, audio books, and magazines
• We have online article databases and newspapers for research purposes
• We have free online tutoring conducted live with an educational professional, for all ages

Please call or email us with any questions or assistance needed with Library services: 949-830-7100 or libreference@cityofmissionviejo.org. We look forward to returning to business as usual as soon as possible and in the meantime, we will do our best to creatively serve the needs of our community during this challenging time.

This press release was produced by the City of Mission Viejo. The views expressed here are the author’s own.