All Cobb County Public Library facilities will be open for in-person service on Tuesday, June 1, Cobb County officials announced Monday, May 24.

The June 1 re-openings will include the Charles D. Switzer Library in downtown Marietta, which has undergone a major renovation. Also reopening are Sibley Library on South Cobb Drive and Lewis A. Ray Library in the Oakdale community off Atlanta Road near I-285. Lewis A. Ray has been closed due to staffing concerns and Sibley has offered curbside services only during closure phases, officials said.

Cobb library operating hours will expand as of June 1 to near pre-COVID levels and public meeting spaces will open for reservations. Library patrons will also begin to see in-person offerings on the library events calendar along with virtual programs, officials said.

Since mid-March 2020, Cobb public libraries, and libraries throughout the world, went through phases of closure and limited service re-openings. Libraries are now returning to closer to normal operations while keeping health and safety protocols in place.

The return of all 15 Cobb libraries being open to the public is made possible by a robust, complex collaborative effort of more than a year by Cobb library staff alongside Cobb Government peers to get to this special date, said Cobb Library Director Helen Poyer.

“CCPL’s phased approach to re-opening gave us time to devise curbside service models, fill most staff vacancies, and prepare branches to serve our public by adding protective devices and equipment to continue to help curb the transmission of COVID,” she said.

User spaces within libraries across Cobb will also open on June 1, officials said.

Meeting and study rooms are again open for reservations. Meeting rooms are available at 12 libraries and may be requested by non-profit organizations, government or public education agencies through an online reservation system. Study rooms are available at seven libraries and are available on a first-come, first-served basis by calling a library that offers this service. The Creative Studios in the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center on Lower Roswell Road will also open June 1.

Patrons entering all county buildings, including libraries, must go through a temperature check. Masks continue to be strongly encouraged.

Cobb Library hours of operation as of June 1 are:

• East Cobb, Gritters, Kemp, Mountain View Regional, North Cobb Regional, Powder Springs, Sewell Mill, South Cobb Regional, Stratton, Switzer, Vinings and West Cobb Regional libraries open Monday-Wednesday 10 am - 8 pm, Thursday and Friday 10 am - 6 pm, and Saturday 10 am - 5 pm. Curbside hold pickup will continue at these branches but with reduced hours: Mondays - Fridays 10 am - 2 pm, Mondays – Wednesdays 5 pm - 7 pm, and Saturdays 10 am - 5 pm.
• Lewis A. Ray, Sibley and Sweetwater libraries open Monday – Wednesday 10 am-7 pm, Thursday and Friday 1-6 pm, and Saturday 10 am-5 pm. Curbside hold pickup is available Mondays - Wednesdays 10 am – 2 pm and 5 pm-7 pm, Thursdays and Fridays 1-5 pm and Saturdays 10 am - 5 pm.