Back to the books

More than 2,000 books have already made their journey back to our shelves as we continue our staged reopening of Bayside libraries over coming weeks. Our libraries are reopening in accordance with Victorian government restrictions, to help our community stay safe from COVID-19.

We’ve already started to crank up with the steady return of the books since 1 June (only 48,000 to go). All returned books will be isolated for 24 hours and sanitised with approved cleansing/sanitising spray. Please do not return items if you are unwell.

Our staged approach will give library members access to our fabulous books while we maintain safe spaces, good hygiene practices and social distancing.

Our return to COVID-19 safe libraries includes:

Recommencing returns and reservations – until 15 June Library chutes open at Beaumaris, Hampton and Brighton 8am-6pm Monday to Friday for book returns. Ongoing processing of 10,000 existing reservations - where books are already on the shelf, they can be home delivered by our friendly Council couriers. We will contact members with reservations to notify when the articles are ready for collection. Reopening for collections only - 15 June to 29 June Online and telephone reservations reopen. Libraries reopen for in-person book collection in foyer spaces only. Library members will be contacted when their reserved books are ready to collect. Collection spaces will be arranged to meet physical distancing and space restrictions on the numbers of people who can attend at one time. Expanded opening for collection and browsing – from 29 June Brighton, Beaumaris and Hampton libraries open for book selection on weekdays and Saturday mornings. Our spaces will be reconfigured to meet physical distancing guidelines and restrictions on numbers of people who can visit at one time. The Sandringham ‘pop-up’ library will not to reopen as it is too small to meet physical distancing guidelines – the new Sandringham Library is scheduled to open in the second half of 2020. PC bookings and study spaces remain closed for the foreseeable future.

We will continue to adapt our library services and facilities to deliver within COVID-19 safety guidelines. We appreciate your understanding and patience during our staged reopening.

Find out more about our wide range of eLibrary resources

Our friendly librarians are isolating returned books for 24 hours and then sanitising them to be ready for the next borrower.