Abby Hoover
Lexi Garcia
Northeast News

After closing branches in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kansas City Public Library (KCPL) reopened its locations to the public on June 1, including the newly renovated North-East Branch at 6000 Wilson Ave.

Before Tuesday, KCPL had reopened most locations partially, allowing limited public access while reintroducing or reimagining a number of services. Its focus has been, and remains, on the health and safety of both patrons and staff, according to a release from the library.

“I’m really excited to see familiar faces again, I’m excited to see who’s moved into the community since COVID has occurred,” Branch Manager Amanda Barnhart said.

One service that has been modified over the past year is placing books on hold to pick up. The Pop In/Pick Up system returned to the library’s original holds pickup format ahead of the reopening. Beginning Monday, May 17, patrons were able to walk into their preferred library location and pick up their holds without having to text or call first.

Starting June 1, patrons were able to return to their library location to enjoy many more of the services they’ve missed, including browsing the collection of books and other materials and signing up to use computers without making appointments ahead of time.

Cheryl Fonville, Library Aide at the North-East Branch and resident of Northeast, said she is excited to see her regulars. She hopes patrons will take advantage of some of the largely unknown resources the library has in the new space, which is lightyears ahead in terms of functionality and comfort. One of the many services is a program called Libby, which helps translate text to help those with dyslexia.

Visitors will be required to wear masks inside all KCPL buildings in accordance with Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations. To ensure that masks stay on, food and drink will not be allowed. The library is still reassessing how to reintroduce some services, like meeting and study room rentals, indoor in-person events, and other services.

Patrons of the North-East Branch will return to a newly remodeled space that includes a conference room, Studio, a digital display of local murals and so much more.

“We all walked in and were gushing and how amazing it looks,” KCPL Media Relations Specialist Talia Evans said.

The North-East Branch staff will resume its successful “Pop In at the Park” events from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Tuesday at Concourse Park and every Thursday at Budd Park. They will be at Lykins Park on Friday, July 23.
Among the most exciting changes to the branch is the Studio, which will be a space to “get messy,” whether that’s tie-dying t-shirts, summer reading programs, crafts or writing prompts.

“It’s just really exciting for the community to be able to reconnect with each other,” Barnhart said.

With the past year posing new challenges to students, they’re looking more to reinforce learning over the summer. Outdoor classes will be offered along with group activities online.

“We knew that whether we could do activities inside or not, or how soon we could do it, that we could do them outside,” Director of Youth and Family Engagement Crystal Faris said. “The Hall Foundation actually graciously gave us funding to do that.”

Kids Cafe will also be resuming as well, serving lunches four days a week. It will be a grab and take service to help minimize crowding.

For more information about KCPL’s reopening schedule, visit kclibrary.org.