It is no longer possible to hang out in the library

A guard counts the entrances and exits of the library.Image: Patrik renmark

Only 14 bikes are parked in the bike rack outside the library on Thursday morning. A woman with a stroller hesitates and looks questioningly at the guard outside.

– You can come in, now it’s 32, says the guard.

Recently, there was a queue of ten people. At 50, they are one outside and one inside, which applies. As if it had been a popular disco.

– What I love about the library is that it is a place open to everyone. Where you can get help with everything, or just contemplate. It is a meeting place. But today we can’t offer that, says Lisa Berger, librarian and our guide through the desolate City Library.

“Here people collect their reserved books, here it must be well ventilated. And we have done it,” says Lisa Berger, librarian.Image: Patrik renmark

No, the library is no longer a meeting place. The library has complied with the stricter advice of the Swedish Public Health Agency for Skåne. All entry shelves and seating have been removed. Five computers are open to the public.

– We want people to come in and borrow books, or drop off books and make short visits, says Lisa Berger.

Visitors should preferably have reserved books from home. on the network. They are then collected from the shelves behind the reception. The plexiglass is located around the information desk on the second floor. A large sticker on the ground announces: Stand here.

– It is a way of helping people to keep their distance. We need to remind you of that. It’s human nature to want to get closer, says Lisa Berger.

During the spring pandemic, visits to the library decreased. During the summer they found the back, but it was not crowded. It happened then when autumn began.

– Fall is always the best time for the library. Then new students start and we issue more library cards than usual, says Lisa Berger.

Malmö City Library. New routines regarding increasing the spread of infection.Image: Patrik renmark

When the infection spread, the city of Malmö yesterday decided to keep the library open, but only to run quick errands. This is also what librarians want:

– We agree that we must do this, we must be open so that you can borrow books but also be among other people, but we must do it safely, says Lisa Berger.

Study places and chairs are usually full in the Calendar of Light he has a view of a Castle Park in autumn attire. Today, the chairs are placed in a corner with yellow-black tape over the seats. On the shelf among the fashion books we find Anders Alpadie from Kristianstad.

– It feels unusual when you are included to go to the library. But here it’s quiet and nice and it feels safe too, he says.

Rafel Wafer and Ranin Hamza are looking for books for Rafel Wafer’s C thesis. It’s also about the effects of the pandemic.Image: Patrik renmark

Among the shelves of sociology and political science, Rafel Wazer searches together with his friend Ranin Hamza for books on aid for the elderly.

– I will write my thesis C on how the elderly have been affected in development aid decisions during the corona pandemic, says Rafel Wazer.

There is a stack of books on the shelf. There is no place for her to read the books.

– No, I can take them and borrow them. It’s a bit weird that it’s so empty here, but since the infection has increased, I understand why they have, he says.

In the newspaper room there is a woman bent over the current Kvällposten. She is not happy with the new rules.

– I think it is excessive that you can not sit. He’s still six feet from here. I need to come here so I can read about these new rules and I have terrible pain in my leg, says the woman who does not want to give her name.

In the Kanini children’s department, where Lisa Berger works, there has long been a maximum limit of 15 people. The study and the coffee room have been closed since March. Yesterday the cushions were removed and the seats were blocked. In addition, a maximum time of 15 minutes has been entered.

– We don’t want to encourage people to stay, says Lisa Berger.

The strictest restrictions apply until November 17, but can be extended.

It is possible to return the books in a box outside. “These go straight to our check-in machine,” says librarian Elin Lundberg. As usual, there is a return machine at the back of the library that is open 24 hours a day.Image: Patrik renmark

Anders Apladie from Kristianstad visits Malmö during the autumn holidays. “It feels safe in the library and we just tested ourselves, we are infection free,” he says.Image: Patrik renmark