The last two months have been some of the most difficult and frustrating of the COVID-19 pandemic for all of us, and that is equally true for us here at Brampton Library. The Omicron wave has upended all of our expectations and assumptions, seeming to promise, in almost equal doses, increasing danger and a path out of the pandemic. 

For the Library, this phase meant that provincial restrictions reduced our capacity to welcome you to 50 percent. But we went further than that, limiting services solely to those that were transactional and brief in order to both protect the community and to respond to a higher than usual level of staff absences. At one branch, Mount Pleasant Village, we are reluctantly offering only curbside pickup service. 

We know that you miss our services, none more than the ability to use our spaces to read, study, and relax. Our feeling was that this sort of extended visit, in a setting where proof of vaccination is not required, would lead to a higher level of exposure than the community was comfortable with under the circumstances. 

We are immensely grateful to everyone in our community for their patience throughout this trying time. We are also heartened by the fact that the wave seems to have peaked and that hospitalizations have decreased. For that reason, we are hoping to restore some of the services you need after the Family Day weekend, in keeping with the province’s ongoing relaxation of restrictions. We are also looking to re-open our Mount Pleasant Village branch as soon as possible.

As I write this, I feel that we have been here before, announcing a return to normalcy, with our branches full of activity, programs, conversation, and quiet study. But like before, I cannot offer a definitive assurance of when that will happen. I can only assure you that we will build back our services as the conditions allow and as the community is comfortable. In the meantime, keep safe, and keep monitoring our website and social media pages for updates.