Lawrence Public Library, pictured Aug. 20, 2015.

The Lawrence Public Library last week moved to a new phase of its reopening — including dropping its mask requirement — but it also is considering a permanent reduction in hours that would continue after the pandemic is over.

The library moved into its blue phase on June 1, which eliminated restrictions on how long people could stay in the library at a given time, added more seating areas, and moved the computer lab back to its original downstairs location, among other loosenings of restrictions at the downtown facility.

“June 1 was our biggest checkout day since July 2018,” said Brad Allen, the library’s executive director. “The energy in the building was great. It was great to see so many people back in the building again.”

On Friday, Allen and other library leaders started to see their full faces again too. The library lifted its mask requirement after reviewing new guidance from the Lawrence-Douglas County health department.

Allen said the library is encouraging people who are not fully vaccinated to continue to wear masks while in the library. People who are fully vaccinated, however, are welcome to go maskless in the facility.

“That seems to be in line with what else is going on throughout the city,” Allen said.

Hours at the library, however, have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. It is uncertain whether they ever will. Allen said his staff is actively reviewing whether returning to the pre-pandemic hours would be wise.

“We are taking time to figure out how busy we were during some of those hours we were open,” Allen said. “We are trying to figure out whether we were open the right amount of hours (before the pandemic.)”

Allen said some of the numbers show the library wasn’t very busy during some of the evening hours it previously was open.

Currently, the library is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Pre-pandemic, the library was open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on those days. Currently the library is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Pre-pandemic, the library was open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

The new hours represent an expansion of hours on Sunday. Allen said opening at 10 a.m. on Sundays — rather than noon — has seemed to be popular. He thinks families with younger children are more likely to come down to the library to browse and then grab lunch with those new hours.

Every other day, however, has the library open fewer hours compared to the pre-pandemic levels. In total, the library is now open 64 hours per week versus 73 hours per week with the pre-pandemic hours.

Allen said a final decision on future hours hasn’t been made, but the library is contemplating whether it should use its limited staff resources to do some things outside the library building.

“We understand that one way to get out in the community more is if we aren’t staffing as many desks for as many hours as we currently do,” Allen said.

One program on that front that will happen is a new, much larger bookmobile or mobile library vehicle. The library has purchased a large vehicle similar to a UPS truck. A class in the KU School of Architecture is currently refurbishing that truck to become a unique way to check out books or deliver library programs to locations around town, Allen said.

“We definitely want to go to places where people have a hard time getting to the library,” Allen said.

The library has run a limited bookmobile program that primarily has focused on serving retirement communities. Allen wants the new program to be much broader than that.

Students are making significant modifications to the vehicle. For instance, the vehicle is being modified so side panels can be lowered, which will reveal bookshelves that can be accessed from outside the vehicle. In the age of COVID-19, Allen said it was important to come up with a design that didn’t require patrons to actually enter the confined spaces of the truck.

The truck also will be designed to house needed equipment to host programs and events that the library would like to take out into neighborhoods.

“We’re super excited to have a truck we can really get out with,” Allen said.

Students are expected to complete the work by the end of the summer. Allen hopes the truck — which was paid for through funds raised by the community book sales hosted at the library — will be operational this fall.

As for other plans to more fully reopen the library, Allen said one of the main programs awaiting reopening is the Teen Zone. He said the library had concerns about how to socially distance teens who have not been vaccinated. However, Allen said he hopes the pandemic situation will improve enough to have the Teen Zone reopened by the end of summer. The library’s recording studio also is expected to reopen on a similar timeline, he said.