The home delivery service created by the Municipal Library during the temporary closure decreed by the State of Emergency proved to be a success and demonstrated the ability of one of the services of the municipality of Proença-a-Nova to adapt to the pandemic situation,” said the local council in a statement.

The municipality states that the drop in the number of requisitions was insignificant, when compared to the same period in 2019, when the library was in full operation.
“Between March and September of this year, 653 books were requisitioned, compared to the 874 registered in 2019; 1,139 books were returned, compared to 1,035 last year; and 142 renewals were registered, compared to 376 in 2019. The home delivery of books available to all readers anywhere in the municipality contributed to these figures”, reads the note.

The creation of the home delivery service was the way, found by the municipality of Proença-a-Nova, to keep the space in operation, given the temporary closure of the Municipal Library and its outposts (Sobreira Formosa, Atalaias, São Pedro do Esteval and Montes da Senhora), which closed for the same reason, as well as the suspension of the Bibliomóvel routes.

“The readers had access to the availability of the books by consulting the ‘online’ catalogue, accessible on the Library’s website, at www.biblioteca.cm-proencanova.pt/, and once chosen (maximum of three publications per reader), the request was made by ‘email’ or by telephone and the date and time of delivery was agreed upon”, explains the municipality.

In addition to the books, it was also possible to request DVDs and another of the novelties implemented during this exceptional period was the extended loan of up to one month.