Residents in the Town of Kingsville will be celebrating today.
The Cottam library branch will be re-opening its doors for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted service in March, 2020.
The CEO and Chief Librarian of Essex County Library Adam Craig says the branch on Fox Street has undergone maintenance and cosmetic updates over the past few years and has received new materials.
"We did some things like updating the collections," says Craig. "So the books had been sitting on the shelves untouched for quite a while so in each of the cases in the small reopening's, we went through with a fine tooth comb and made sure the look and the feel was there and made sure what we're offering people is up to date."
He adds the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
"It's really awesome to see how passionate some of the folks in Essex County are about their libraries," he says. "I receive phone calls and emails a couple of times a week about when is this opening, thank you for opening, so it's been a real eye opener that the people of Essex County are still very excited about their library."
The Cottam branch is also holding a Spring Membership Drive to encourage people to visit the library and see what services and resources are offered.
"Just come in and check us out," says Craig. "It takes 10 minutes to get a card, see what we have to offer and I believe that once people realize what we are and what we do, they'll find there's a space for us in their lives."
The Cottam branch will open at 1 p.m Monday.
Essex County Library is also in the finishing stages of renovating a new location for the Comber branch in Lakeshore which will open in a couple of weeks.