2 Loudoun Libraries Closed To Provide Day Care Reopen To Public

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA—Two public libraries in Loudoun County that had been closed to the public so they could be used as day care facilities during the coronavirus pandemic reopened Friday.

The branches, which had previously been limited to curbside pickup service since Aug. 31, will resume operations in accordance with the Commonwealth’s Phase 3 guidelines for the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are delighted to reopen Ashburn and Rust libraries,” said Loudoun County Public Library Director Chang Liu. “Staff is finishing work needed to reconfigure the branches so our customers can enjoy the libraries while adhering to social distancing standards."

The Ashburn and Rust libraries had been designated as sites for the county’s K-6 Distance Learning Child Care Program; however, the branches are not needed at this time, library officials said.

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors' handling of the decision to initially use the Rust and Ashburn branches of the county's library system as child care centers drew intense criticism. The county board did not include library officials in the process of assessing where the children of Loudoun County Public School staff and county government employees would receive child care when the school year starts on Sept. 8.

SEE ALSO:

• Decision To Use Loudoun Libraries For Child Care Stuns Residents
• Loudoun County To Turn 2 Libraries Into Child Care Centers
• Loudoun County Offering K-6 Distance Learning Child Care Program

"If you join a library board of trustees and your libraries are suddenly getting closed and you had no involvement in it, you're not exactly happy, to put it mildly," Denis Cotter, chairman of the Loudoun Board of Library Trustees, told Patch.

Following the Board of Supervisors decision to restrict library usage, Cotter ultimately resigned.

The board will reconsider the use of the libraries at its regular meeting Tuesday, Sept. 15.