After being closed for over a year due to COVID-19, City College’s Luria Library has fully opened its doors again. 

During the lockdown, the library only offered online services and lent out books, hotspots, laptops and course materials for students. 

The librarians worked completely online, but according to library technician Camerin Poulson, there was still a lot of work to do on-site for the staff. 

The library is open again for everyone to use. However, there are COVID-19 safety restrictions in place—including social distancing, no eating inside and wearing a mask indoors at all times.

Not only is the staff looking forward to going back to a sense of normalcy, but the students are content to have a place to study again.

“It’s a quiet and academic environment,” City College freshman Kirsten Milliron said. “It helps to have people around you that are doing the same thing.”

The library is not just the place to find resources and print out pages. Above all, it presents a quiet and motivating environment for students to study. In times of COVID-19, these traits in a study spot appear to be more important than ever before.

Studying became a hard thing to do over the past year, according to Milliron.

In interviews with the Channels, various students shared that their homes didn’t present appropriate places to study. Noises would easily distract them from work and studying on their beds also affected their motivation negatively.

Some students explained they started doing their school work at coffee shops. However, since they had to find parking and pay for the drinks, this didn’t appear to be a permanent solution either.

The library seems to play a significant role in the academic success of many students. Some of them said they would come here just to study, even if they only have online classes. 

“It’s just better to be back on campus,” City College sophomore Victoria Larson said.

But according to Poulson, there aren’t as many students at the library as there used to be. 

The effects COVID-19 on City College’s school life are still evident. But the staff is confident that it will change as soon as more students notice the library is accessible again.

The Luria Library is open on Mondays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

After Oct. 1, it will also be open on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Apart from that, the library will continue to offer virtual services and in-person pickups.