By Josh Bootsma
LANSING, Ill. (January 5, 2022) – The Lansing Public Library has limited the amount of students that can use the library after school to 20 at a time.
The move comes as COVID-19 concerns continue to rise as a result of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the virus.
Students will be given only 45 minutes to use the library if there are others students waiting. Students must also stay in one location in the building during the duration of their time.
Beth Bozzo, Director of Youth Services at the Library, told The Lansing Journal that 30-60 kids come into the library on an average school day, and that most are from Memorial Junior High, located just around the block. Elementary school students require a parent to be present with them at the Lansing Library, Bozzo said.
“Our students that come in, they can be a little rambunctious after school, they’ve got a lot of extra energy. They go back and forth a lot from place to place. We’re just trying to do what we can to make sure that we’re not becoming a threat of COVID that happens at the library,” Bozzo said.
Students will receive one warning about proper mask usage before being asked to leave the library, a Library email said.
Parents of students that often use the library after school have been urged to make after-school arrangements for their children, as spots at the Lansing Library are not guaranteed.
Other changes
In addition to the student limitation, youth and teen programming has been moved online for the rest of January. Interested participants can visit the Lansing Library’s website for more information.
The Chez Butter concert, originally scheduled for January 7, has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.
Bozzo said the Lansing Library is not planning on any occupancy limits in the upstairs part of the library at this time.
The Lansing Public Library is located at 2750 Indiana Avenue.
Related
- Walk-in vaccine clinic at Lansing Library scheduled for January 15 (January 2, 2022)
- Lansing Library to debut new youth and teen section during June 4 open house (May 25, 2021)
