A note on our mask policy

Dear customers and friends,

Following last week's CDC announcement, the state of Massachusetts has determined that beginning 5/29 fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear face coverings inside or outdoors. Under both state and federal guidelines, individual businesses can still set their own safety policies.

At this time, Federal Street Books is making no changes to our COVID-19 safety protocols. Our capacity for in-store browsing is still limited to 6 customers at a time, and customers and staff must be masked during open hours.

While we (Hillary and Neil) have both been fully vaccinated, we serve families with children who are not yet eligible for vaccination, as well as customers with health conditions that put them at additional risk. We also do not want to police individuals' vaccination status as they come through our door. Finally, we acknowledge that there are community members who still have not accessed vaccines. We hope you share our concerns about the health and safety of our customers and community.

We continue to offer online ordering, curbside pickup, shipping, Greenfield delivery, and shop by appointment. And, if you've forgotten your mask, we have a supply of cloth masks and we are happy to give you one for free.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and support -- we will examine and adjust our policies as new information becomes available, and we'll post updates to this space and on social media. -- Hillary and Neil