Friday, March 20, 2020 Charleston County Library

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) branches are temporarily closed and will remain closed until further notice. Fines incurred during this period are being waived.

“It appears we will be unable to reopen on March 31. Instead of proposing a potential new reopening date, which could possibly change again, we have decided to close temporarily until further notice,” said CCPL Executive Director Angela Craig. “We are taking this day-by-day and evaluating our operational capacity while children are out of school and as CDC guidelines continue evolving. As soon as we are ready to reopen our doors, we will announce the date.”

Patrons can still engage with their library from the comfort of their homes. CCPL offers an array of digital resources, programming and services, and continues to expand these offerings including a new temporary e-card that unlocks access to ebooks, audio books, movies, subscriptions and more.

Learn at Home with Digital Resources

A variety of free digital resources are available for to library card holders of all ages. These include eBooks and audiobooks; streaming music, movies and TV; access to research databases such as Lynda.com, Mango Languages, Consumer Reports, LearningExpress; eBooks for children through TumbleBooks, digital access to the New York Times, and more. You can even access Ancestry.com free from your home with you CCPL library card!

Visit ccpl.org/learnathome for a full list of what we have available.

Additionally, CCPL is purchasing more e-books and audio books in order to decrease the amount of time patrons are on hold waiting for the material to become available online. The Library offers e-materials including books, audiobooks, music, TV shows and movies through four vendors:

The checkout limit for Hoopla is being increased from 10 to 15 items, and OverDrive from four to eight items. RBDigital’s limits have been increased to eight checkouts and six holds (for audiobooks only). These changes are temporary during the closure of CCPL branches.

New e-Card for Free Access

Don’t have a CCPL library card but still want to access all our great digital resources? Charleston residents can now apply for a temporary digital library card. This card will provide free access to most of CCPL’s digital resources during the library closures. Applications must be made online at ccpl.org and may require one to two days for processing. Applicants will not receive a physical card but will receive a card number that they can use to access the library’s array of digital offerings. To apply for your e-Card, visit ccpl.org/ecard.

Virtual Programs

CCPL is working on several virtual programs and services that patrons can access from the comfort of their home. These free programs, which are available through the CCPL website and social media, include children’s storytimes, episodes of the award-winning podcast, Charleston Time Machine, staff book recommendations, Spanish language lessons, MET Opera performances, educational resources, virtual field trips, art classes, book lists, and more. Visit ccpl.org for details.

Ask a Librarian

Have a question for the library during the closure? You can connect directly with a librarian on CCPL’s website via chat, text and email (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.), or connect with CCPL on Facebook.

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These are just some of the many ways that CCPL is staying connected with patrons during these closures. For more info and updates, please visit ccpl.org or connect with the library on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.