FARNHAM is among the first tranche of libraries in Surrey set to reopen their doors from Monday (July 6) – but Haslemere will have to wait a little longer.

The first libraries to reopen will be Camberley, Dorking, Woking, Staines, Redhill, Horley, Epsom, Egham, Oxted, Farnham, Weybridge, Godalming and Guildford.

Surrey County Council yet to set a concrete date for the reopening of the remaining community facilities – Haslemere included.

“Libraries in the first phase are opening because they are some of our largest libraries and give us a good geographical coverage for the county,” said a council spokesman. “This is part of a careful approach to reopening.”

The county’s libraries closed on March 20 and the county council is now planning to reopen services in a safe way.

It says the priority will be staff and customer safety, which means the libraries will have to operate in a different way with a reduced service, limited capacity in buildings, additional cleaning measures and guidelines in place for social distancing.

Customers will be able to visit open libraries to browse and borrow books, but they won’t be able to use public computers and printing services, nor will they be able to read newspapers, use study spaces or seating areas.

As well as a free reservation service, customers can also take advantage of ‘ready reads’ – a new service where they tell the library what books they enjoy and library staff hand-pick a selection for them to collect from their nearest open library.

Despite the buildings being closed, Surrey’s libraries have seen a huge increase in membership with numbers up 110 per cent compared to a similar period last year, as people join online from home.

Library members have been enjoying a varied offer of digital services, with over 11,000 e-books and audiobooks downloaded since lockdown began.

Videos on the popular Surrey Libraries Facebook channel, including online Rhymetime sessions, craft and science activities and even an online Lego club, have reached more than 230,000 people. Videos have been so popular the Surrey Libraries have launched a new YouTube channel.