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Durham County Main Library reopens after unexpected shutdown. Do you need a mask?

Mark Schultz
·2 min read

The Durham County Main Library, which shut down just six days after a grand reopening last week, reopened Wednesday.

The Main Library, at 300 N. Roxboro St., resumed operation at 9:30 a.m. after closing Monday, when heating, ventilation and air conditioning problems raised indoor temperatures “upward of 90 degrees,” Library Director Tammy Bagget-Best told The News & Observer.

“We were very disappointed to have to close Main Library so quickly following our grand reopening on July 20,” Baggett-Best said in a news release Wednesday. “But are thankful for our county General Services team who worked so quickly to correct the issue. We look forward to welcoming everyone back today.”

The library reopened to lines out the door last week after an expansion and major renovations totaling $44.3 million, paid for through a 2016 county bond referendum. It had been closed about four years.

Durham library hours

Face masks for library visitors ages 2 and up are required at all library locations. The libraries also require that visitors:

▪ Answer screening questions.

▪ Have their temperature checked.

▪ Practice physical distancing.

The hours for the Main Library, as well as the East, North, South, and Southwest Regional Libraries, and Stanford L. Warren Branch Library are:

▪ Monday–Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

▪ Thursday–Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The hours for Bragtown Branch Library are:

▪ Monday 1 to 8 p.m.

▪ Tuesday–Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

All locations are currently closed Sundays.

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