Three branches of Warren County Public Library reopen

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – There’s some good news for book lovers.

Three branches of the Warren County Public Library are officially back open. 

“Now people can come back into the building, browse for books, use the computers and use any of our services,” said Bob Kirby branch manager Ashley Fowlkes. 

The Bob Kirby, Smiths Grove and Main Library locations reopened after being closed to the public for browsing since Thanksgiving. 

“We are very excited. My son was trying to pick out books he was gonna get as we were driving over here, so he couldn’t wait,” said the Hall family who was at the library today. 

Fowlkes say this is much needed for the community especially during the tough times of the pandemic.  

“A lady called just a minute ago and I put a couple of books on hold for her and she said ‘I am a longtime library user and I cannot tell you how glad I am to be able to come back into the library.’ And people have been coming in and are just thrilled,” said Fowlkes. 

And for many people, the library being back open means so much more than just the joy of reading. 

“People come to the library for a variety of reasons. Part of it has to do with their livelihood. Sometimes they have to come and apply for unemployment benefits or check on the status of them. Sometimes they need to come and check on the status of their bill paying. They have things they need to do legally and they need to have things notarized. So the library provides a lot of things for people business-wise,” said Fowlkes. 

And have no fear, the library routinely sanitizes and puts books in quarantine for four days once returned.