Cranford Library Goes Remote Starting This Week

CRANFORD, NJ — A number of Union County facilities and schools have temporarily shifted to remote operations as coronavirus cases increase, and cases are expected to rise further as people return from holiday gatherings. The Cranford Public Library is no exception.

As of Friday, the library shifted from allowing limited in-person browsing of materials to providing only "Grab and Go Pickup" of materials.

"In keeping with the library's goal to prioritize your health and safety, and that of the library staff, limited in-person browsing of the library collection will be suspended effective Friday, Nov. 27 with a planned restoration date of Monday, Dec. 14, if circumstances allow," the library announced last week.

On the library website, they noted, "This is not a decision that we have made lightly. At the Nov. 19 Meeting of the Board of Trustees, the board discussed the potential need to take a proactive approach to help curtail the rising level of positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths in New Jersey. As of Nov. 21, the seven-day average of new coronavirus cases in New Jersey has been 3,902 new cases per day, with Nov. 21 marking the highest number of new cases in a single day in 2020. New Jersey Department of Health’s most recent reports show the Activity Level of COVID-19 as HIGH in nearly every part of the state."

(For a recent Patch report on Cranford numbers, click here.)

For more detailed information on the library's decision and how to request materials remotely, please click here.

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