Majority Of Hennepin County Libraries To Reopen This Year
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Several libraries in Hennepin County will reopen before the end of the year, but not all of them.
The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approved a reopening plan that will allow 24 libraries to reopen with restrictions so as to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Meanwhile, nine libraries will remain closed. One of them, East Lake library, was damaged during the nights of unrest following George Floyd's death.
The list of libraries slated to reopen this year include:
-- Arvonne Fraser
-- Augsburg Park
-- Brookdale
-- Edina
-- Excelsior
-- Franklin
-- Hopkins
-- Nokomis
-- Northeast
-- North Regional
-- Oxboro
-- Penn Lake
-- Rockford Road
-- Rogers
-- St. Louis Park
-- Sumner
-- Walker
-- Champlin
-- Maple Plain
-- Minneapolis Central
-- St. Anthony
-- Southdale
-- Wayzata
-- and Westonka.
The libraries that won't open this year are:
-- East Lake
-- Golden Valley
-- Linden Hills
-- Long Lake
-- Minnetonka
-- Osseo
-- Pierre Bottineau
-- Roosevelt
-- and St. Bonifacius.
Libraries in Hennepin County closed due to the pandemic in mid-March. Later, eight locations reopened in April for curbside pickup. Those locations were Brooklyn Park, Eden Prairie, East Lake, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Ridgedale, Washburn and Webber Park.
County officials have yet to decide on how the libraries will be staffed, as they will be operating at reduced capacity due to state COVID-19 guidelines.