Gloucester Twp. Library Back To Curbside Service Amid COVID Spike

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — After being reopened for two months, the Camden County Library's Gloucester Township branch will close once again implement a curbside service plan to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, county officials announced on Tuesday.

The library system will return to its curbside service plan that it had in June as the number of cases spikes in the county. As of Tuesday, 15,884 Camden County residents had tested positive and 588 had died since the beginning of the pandemic.

In Gloucester Township, there have been 1,633 cases and 62 deaths. This includes 11 new cases reported on Tuesday. Contact tracing is under way in all new cases. Read more here: Camden County Coronavirus Cases Spike As Officials Urge Caution

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Returns for items checked out prior to the closures will be available in advance of full curbside services. The branch is located at 15 South Black Horse Pike in the Blackwood section of the township. As of Friday, the following restrictions will be in place:

• No patron is permitted to enter the brick-and-mortar premises;
• In-premises operations are limited to employees who are responsible for the operation required for curbside pickup/drop-off;
• All transactions should be handled in advance or by other means that avoid person-to-person contact;
• Patrons are required to wait in their vehicles until staff delivers or retrieves their materials; and
• Designated employees are responsible for bringing materials from the facility and place them directly in a patron’s vehicle.

Curbside service will be available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday; and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

“The Camden County Library System has been continuing to serve the community throughout this pandemic by expanding its online and digital services for children and adults, and by extending access of those services to more residents,” said Freeholder Melinda Kane, liaison to the Camden County Library System. “As we look towards the next phase of our recovery, the library’s focus is on providing additional in-person services while prioritizing the safety and security of its staff and its patrons.”

Information regarding the organization will be posted to the system’s website as it becomes available. As curbside services begin again, the library system will go back to offering virtual programs and classes, virtual meeting rooms, access to e-content, and reference services from librarians via email and video calls.

“It is heartbreaking to think of the hundreds of Camden County residents currently fighting this disease, quarantining away from family, or mourning a loved one who was taken during the pandemic. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those suffering the effects of this crisis,” Camden County Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. “We haven’t yet seen a corresponding spike in deaths to match the recent surge in cases. If we keep our hospitals from being pushed past their capacity, we can keep the mortality rate low. Doing this means flattening the curve and stopping the transmission of this virus, which we can do by wearing masks, social distancing, and not gathering indoors.”

The following information is known about the new cases reported on Tuesday in Gloucester Township:

• A man in his 30s;
• Two women in their 40s;
• A boy older than 10;
• A woman in her 50s;
• A man in his 30s;
• A juvenile boy of unannounced age;
• Two girls older than 10;
• A man in his 40s; and
• A woman in her 20s.