“I can’t tell you how overjoyed I was to see that table and big, bold sign out on the sidewalk today. It’s so awesome to be able to get printed books again! No library has enough e-books to keep our family satisfied (though I know you try really hard).”
– Customer on first day of contactless hold pickup, July 8, 2020
Princeton is a town of readers. It is a town where the printed word is sacrosanct and reading on digital devices is embraced. As the early months of the pandemic played out, this duality was more evident than ever. Soon after we closed the doors of the Sands Library Building on March 13, our customers began yearning for a time when they could safely borrow physical books. Four months later, when we began offering contactless pickup of items reserved online, borrowing skyrocketed and has remained at consistently high levels ever since.
Throughout the pandemic, e-book and digital audiobook borrowing has grown to unprecedented levels, as print fans came to love and appreciate our digital collections and longtime e-library fans came to rely on our offerings even more. In Princeton, readers of all kinds can find what they want at the library.