Tag contactless pickup

A Glenwood Branch staff member walks across the cafe carrying contactless pickup bags.

Exciting Changes at Glenwood!

juliefitzreader Leave a comment
A Glenwood Branch staff member walks across the cafe carrying contactless pickup bags.
Contactless Pickup at HCLS Glenwood Branch.

Renovations are coming to Glenwood! We are excited to announce that the Glenwood Branch will be undergoing renovations starting Monday, March 15. The building will be updated to better meet the needs of the community and continue to be a Western Howard County destination. Included in the renovation are new classroom spaces, a new café area, a passport office, an outdoor space, and much more.   

The Glenwood Branch will continue to offer contactless pickup throughout the duration of the renovation with limited hours. Effective Monday, March 15, the new contactless pickup hours will be:  

  • Monday through Wednesday, Friday and Saturday: 2-6   
  • Thursday: 2-8  

The pickup location for holds and bundle bags will be in the Glenwood meeting room. Please look for signs directing customers to this new location. Staff will be available at Glenwood during the above hours to answer phones and manage contactless pickup.  

The Glenwood staff is looking forward to the updates the renovation will bring to the branch and are excited to share the changes with the community once the renovations are complete and HCLS buildings are open to customers.   

While the Glenwood Branch is open for limited service, our staff are available through our AskHCLS service, via phone, email, or chat. Please follow the link to view service hours and contact information. A listing of HCLS branches is available here.  

In addition to contactless pickup of holds, our bundle bag service is available at all branches! If you miss browsing the stacks, let our research specialists share their extensive reader’s advisory skills and make selections for you to enjoy. Topics change regularly and you can request up to five bundle bags at a time; selections range in age from children to teens to adults.  

Brown paper bag decorated with book spines, as a way to reuse or recycle.

10 Ways to Reuse Your Contactless Pick Up Bag

abennetthcls 3 Comments
  • Brown paper bag decorated with marker and tape to say Happy Birthday, with tissue paper sticking out from the top.

By Anna B.

HCLS is thrilled to now offer paper bags as a more eco-friendly option for Contactless Pickup. If you’ve stopped by to see us a few times, you probably have quite a collection piling up! Here are ten ways to reuse your Contactless Pickup paper bag:

1. Gift Bag

Decorate your bag and use it to surprise a friend or neighbor with a fun treat! Or save them for the holidays for easy gift wrapping.

2. Cat House

Decorate your bag to look like a house and see if your pet will nap inside.

3. Ripen Fruit

If you want your fruit to ripen up a bit faster, try placing it inside your paper bag and folding over the top.

4. Package Filler

Use your paper bag as an eco-friendly way to fill space when sending a package. Cut the bag apart and crumple the pieces so they act as a cushion.

5. Weed Blocker

Paper bags work great for blocking pesky weeds. Cut a hole in a piece of paper bag and arrange around seedlings in your garden.

6. Make a Luminary

Cut shapes out of your bag and place battery-operated candles inside for a lantern effect.

7. Book Cover

Use your bag to cover textbooks or cookbooks to keep them looking nice.

8. Recycling Receptacle

Use your bag to collect paper recycling for easy transport to the recycling bin.

9. Crab Paper

Cut open your bag and use it to line your table when picking steamed crabs at home.

10. Craft Station

Use your bag to protect your table or floor from paint and glue while you make something creative! Consider sharing your new creation with HCLS’s Created While Isolated.

There are so many ways to upcycle your bag to get the most out of it. We’d love to see how you are reusing yours!

Anna has worked at the Glenwood Branch as a Customer Service Specialist for 6 years. She loves crafting, yoga, and baking.

Contactless Pickup Begins Today!

Kristen B. Leave a comment
A library staff member, wearing a face covering, places blue bags on a table with alphabetic signs, A-F and G-L.

Welcome back to the Library! We are so happy to be able to lend physical items to you again. Our electronic resources have been invaluable during our collective quarantine and our statistics show it, but we know you are interested in our tangible items, too.

You can now return the materials you have had since March (if not earlier) and borrow new books, movies, Playaways, tools, art, and more. All six branches of HCLS are open for contactless pickup, Mon-Sat*, 10 am – 6 pm.

More than 300,000 items were borrowed before HCLS closed, and customers have placed requests for more than 52,000 items during the closure. All items retrieved from book drops – and returned during contactless pickup – will be quarantined for 72 hours. HCLS staff returned to branches more than a week ago, preparing to begin this new service.

HCLS President & CEO Tonya Aikens comments, “The health, safety, and well-being of our staff and customers remains top priority. Guidance from health officials and the CDC continues to inform our plans. Decisions about how we progress to future phases will depend on the most current health and safety guidelines.”

County Executive Calvin Ball said, “The HCLS team has been instrumental in connecting residents with online resources throughout this pandemic, and we’re thrilled they have found a safe way to provide more access to our residents with contactless pickup.”

So, how does it work? The basics are below, but all the details and FAQs are available here.

1. Place items on hold.

Search the Library’s catalog for titles of interest. To request items from the art collection, please call Central Branch at 410.313.7800, or the DIY collection, please call Elkridge Branch at 410.313.5077.

Use your HCLS-registered library card or A+ student account (for HCPSS students) and PIN to log in and place requests, selecting your preferred pickup location.

You may also make requests by phone by calling your HCLS branch during business hours (10 am – 6 pm, Monday – Saturday).

2. Wait for notification, then reserve a pickup day and time.

You will receive a notice when your holds are available.

Then, fill out the Contactless Holds Pickup Request form online or call your pickup branch to make an appointment.

3. At the scheduled date and time, pick up your holds at the designated HCLS location.

Prior to your appointment, HCLS staff will locate your items, check them out to your account, and bag them. The bag will be labeled with your name and placed on a table in the lobby of the pickup branch.

When you arrive, maintain at least 6 feet of social distance from others. Face coverings are required.

If you notice another customer in the lobby, please remain outside until the previous customer has departed.

Grab your bag and go – items have already been checked out to you. Your receipt will be in the bag.

We have missed you and are so pleased to be offer this service. We can’t wait to see you in person again soon!

*HCLS is closed on July 4, as well as five Fridays for furlough: July 3, 17, 31, and August 14 & 28.