Dear Chapel Hill,  

Nearly two and a half years since our doors first closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I'm sharing with you what I hope will be my final update on the Library’s Path to Reopening. 

Recently, you may have seen some changes around the building — most notably our expanded hours and increased activity in our meeting rooms. Both our hours of operation and our meeting room policies are different from what they were in The Before Times, and I’m writing to share the “why” behind these changes.  

Hours of Operation 

Throughout the COVID era, our hours have changed many times – remember when we were closed on Wednesday and Sunday? Now that we are in the final steps of our path to full re-opening – and we are fully staffed – we are so happy to return to a regular set of hours, especially in the evening. To get to this new slate of hours, we collaborated with community partners and surveyed our users to determine what hours of service will provide the most benefit to our community. Thanks to everyone who provided input! 

• Monday - Thursday: 10 am to 8 pm
• Friday - Sunday: 10 am to 6 pm

Meeting Room Policies  

During COVID times, our meeting rooms were used for everything from storing furniture to processing books. I’m happy to share that they are once again available for meetings, happenings, and gatherings of the Library, Town, and community organizations. And like our hours, we’ve improved some policies and procedures based on engagement with and feedback from our community of users.  

In The Before Times, demand for meeting rooms frequently exceeded supply – and a great deal of waste was generated in the meeting rooms (looking at you, styrofoam containers and single-use plastics). To address the supply and demand issues, we have new meeting room usage guidelines. These are intended to help ensure availability for Library-sponsored programs and Town events while maintaining access for local agencies and community organizations, especially those who represent and serve historically marginalized groups.  

To address the waste issue – and align with the Town’s commitment to environmental sustainability – we have new waste management policies for meeting room users, as well as a green events toolkit to help users reduce the environmental impact of their events.  

We’ve made other notable changes recently— including the addition of B3 Coffee to the lobby, the return of the “Public Spaces” rotating art exhibit on the ground floor, and in the coming weeks, we’ll introduce sensory-friendly furniture as part of a new “Neurodiversity & Nature” initiative.  Stay tuned to this newsletter for all this – and more good stuff in the works!  

As with previous letters, I want to close with my deep and heartfelt thanks to the folks that have gotten us through COVID times – our great community of users and our outstanding staff and volunteers.