Libraries And Other Public St. Pete Facilities Reopen Monday

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — If you've missed being inside a St. Petersburg library and/or other public facilities, you're not going to have to miss these places for much longer because the city of St. Petersburg said on Tuesday libraries and other public facilities will reopen on Monday.

The "new" normal at most St. Pete libraries will look like this, according to the city:

• Forty-five-minute browsing and check-out at all locations except West St. Petersburg Community Library
• Forty-five-minute self-mediated computer time at all locations except West St. Petersburg Community Library
• Curbside pick-up with online scheduling through splibraries.org at Main, Mirror Lake and West St. Petersburg Community Libraries.
• Main Library visitors will use the back entrance, while curbside pickup continues at the front entrance
• Onsite holds pickup at all libraries
• Book returns at all locations except Childs Park Community Library
• Online customer assistance, library cards and more by emailing webmail.library@stpete.org or using AskALibrarian at bit.ly/368vL3O to chat with or email a librarian
• On-site programming, meeting rooms and children's play areas will resume at a later date. Visit splibraries.org for updates.

Recreation center room rentals will be available on Monday, and gymnasiums and fitness centers will resume operations, the city said.

Each center will have its own unique opening plan and coronavirus mitigation procedures, said the city.

Contact your local center for guidelines. Classes and programming at the centers will resume at a later date. Visit StPeteParksRec.org for updates.

Mayor Rick Kriseman said to media that events will be allowed to resume again on Monday with requirements that organizers of third-party, co-sponsored and private events comply with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and local health authorities.

An upcoming annual event Kriseman mentioned is the Come Out St. Pete Festival for National Coming Out Day. It's scheduled for Oct. 17 on Central Avenue. The festival will feature vendors and businesses set up with socially distanced booths. A parade will not take place this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Kriseman.

All other public city facilities will return to normal operating hours.

All city guidelines and recommendations for indoor assembly referenced in The St. Pete Way toolkit on RestartStPete.com will be followed, said the city.