Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the Troy Public Library is closed until April 13.

William White, library director, said the library is closing temporarily to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“We apologize for any inconvenience that our closing incurs but it is in the best interest of our patrons and our community,” he said. “We hope to re-open soon and ask for the support of our patrons during this time.”

White said the decision to close the library temporarily is well founded.

“All library materials are protected in clear plastic coverings and the coronavirus can be circulated for up to three days on any hard surface,” he said. “We don’t have cleaning supplies in the amounts necessary to clean all the materials that come in and go out of the library in order to protect our patrons and the community.”

With the library’s closing, White said those who currently have library materials checked out will not be fined for late returns.

“We are asking our patrons who have books checked out not to return them at this time,” White said. “We will change the due date so there will be no imposed late fees. Just wait and return those books when the library reopens.”

However, White said late-fee fines will be imposed for patrons who have books checked out that were overdue prior to the library’s closing.

Even though the library will be closed until April 13, White said there are still opportunities for those who have a current Troy Public Library Card to check out books and audiobooks through “Libby,” which is a reading app for borrowing digital books and audiobooks from the library’s OverDrive collection.

“Libby has 45,000 e-books, audio books, magazines, videos, etc. to borrow free,” White said. “You must have a valid Troy Public Library Card to check out these materials. Libby is a great resource for checking out books and other materials during this time when the Troy Public Library is closed.”

Keep in mind that materials checked out with Libby will disappear after two weeks.

White said a Troy Public Library Card will provide a link to newspapers around the country.

Visit the TPL at www.troycitylibrary.org.