[Michlib-l] Re-Opening Guidelines from East Lansing

[Debbie Mikula]

Kristin Shelley, Director of the East Lansing Public Library shared her draft of re-opening guidelines at this week’s MLA Coffee Hour.  Here it is for your perusal:

East Lansing Public Library Guidelines for Reopening after a Pandemic:
These guidelines are an outline on phasing in the opening of the library after a closure due to a pandemic. They are not intended to answer all questions, but rather are meant to guide staff and to be a fluid, working document as information continues to develop.

Library services and workflow will change as we determine how to be public facing and serve the needs of the public. The staff composition and duties will change because workflow will be different. The reality is that we may not need the number of staff that we currently have or have them in the positions that they are currently working. Staff must be flexible and able to shift job tasks quickly. We will communicate guidelines and progress of plan often to staff.

A minimum number of circulation and page staff with a supervisor(s) will report first to clean, disinfect then shelve items returned during the closure, once staff are able to return to working in the library. Staff who can work from home, until the library is fully open, will be encouraged to do so.

Returned items will be quarantined for 24 hours before being disinfected and shelved.

Library will be “readied” for full public reopening. Plexiglas shields will be in place at Service Desk and public computers –Library Design Associates has a design for these, but ELPL used a local sign company to make these for us (Foresight Supersign). Administrative staff will report to the library to set up signs, shields, gloves, masks, hand sanitizer stations and “holding room” (see below) prior to library being reopened to the public.

Service hours will be determined, and an optimum amount of staff will be scheduled. Staff hours may be reduced or changed depending on service hours and need. Public hours may be phased in over a few weeks (i.e. open later and close earlier.)

There may be limits on how many patrons will be allowed in the building at a time. We will follow the guidelines of the health department. We are investigating purchasing bookmark timers from Amazon to handout as patrons enter—patrons have 30-45 minutes to be in the library—when leave another patron can come in—keep optimum number of patrons in the building at a time.

Changes in services will be communicated to the staff and community. Staff with be trained on new services.

Curbside service will be instituted and ready to roll out before the building is reopen to the public. Curbside delivery will be encouraged and launched as a service point to help with physical distancing. ELPL may use the front portion of the foyer between the two sets of automatic, sliding doors for this service before we fully reopen to the public or the staff area silver doors by the drive-up book return.

Outside hold lockers will be purchased and installed. Possible companies include D-Tech, Bibliotheca, American Locker and Leid Products.

Additional hotspots will be purchased and laptops for checkout—ordered and additional 30 T-Mobile hotspots.

Materials by mail will be expanded to patrons who want to use this service, again this allows for physical distancing to continue while providing library materials to patrons. We may partner with Michigan State University Libraries on this service since they already fully offer this service.

Online library card application and issuing will continue, be encouraged, and the norm.

At the point that the library opens to the public, good hygiene and physical distancing signs will be in place in the public areas and restrooms, these signs may include floor markers on where patrons should stand to wait for assistance at the Service Desk. The floor marker signs are available from First Impression Print and Marketing (www.fipprint.com.)

Both staff and public spaces will be reconfigured, as much as possible, to allow for physical distancing. Some public computers may need to be “out of service” to maintain social distancing. Again, Plexiglas shields may be placed around the computers.

A regimen for cleaning computers, monitors, mice after every use will be put in place, as other libraries instituted after the Swine Flu.

The use of meeting rooms will not be permitted unless physical distancing can be guaranteed, and the number of meeting attendees is 10 or less. Once the meeting rooms fully reopen, we will follow the guidelines of allowable numbers of people in a gathering set by the Governor/health department.

Areas of the building may be cordoned off when we first reopen—for example the small study rooms, the fireplace seating area. Stacks may be open to two people at a time. The Children’s Area may be limited to a few families at a time. Toys will be slowly reintroduced to the children’s area and only the play things that are easily disinfected. Regularly scheduled cleaning of toys and the Children’s Area will happen many times throughout the day.

Staff will encourage patrons to use self-checkout stations to check out most materials.

In person programming will not happen for at least one month after opening or until physical distancing and the number of people who can gather together are relaxed. Programming will continue online including, but not limited to, Summer Reading Program, storytimes, teen programs, craft, job help tutorials and book discussions.

Volunteers, which includes library volunteers, Peckham and Friends of the Library, will not be in the building until the library can reopen to the public. Physical distancing will be maintained when we reopen, therefore, we will restrict the number of volunteers in the staff area/nonpublic areas to one at any given time. Library staff will not accept donations of materials for the Friends of the Library for two months after the library fully opens to the public. This will give staff time to become comfortable with the new services offered and to configure the staff area for curbside pickup.

Collection development and selection will continue to shift to digital collections, and the budget will shift to further develop digital collections.

Staff Hygiene and Safety:
Much of the cleaning guidelines and staff hygiene and safety guidelines came from a webinar conducted by the CDC. (Mitigating COVID-19 When Managing Paper-Based, Circulating, and Other Types of Collections<https://youtu.be/iuuczmz4BR0>.) There is a link to a list of EPA suggested disinfectants at cdc.gov.
Staff need to have their temperature taken at the staff door

  *   If they have a temperature of 99 degrees or up, they need to go home
  *   Staff will wear masks while working and gloves will be encouraged. We will follow guidelines of the health department on this.

Good hygiene signs will be posted in the staff areas

Staff and public areas will be thoroughly cleaned before the library re-opens

  *   Only staff (determined number pages, circulation staff and supervisors) needed to clean/disinfect returned materials, shelve materials will report the first few days.
  *   Public and staff areas will be cleaned routinely and often throughout the day with disinfectant.
  *   Restrooms both staff and public will be cleaned several times per day. We will work with the custodial services company to schedule more cleanings.

High-risk staff need to make the best and most responsible decision for themselves on whether they will return to work, and they need to share this decision with library administration as soon as possible.


A “holding room,” for a staff member or patron who exhibits symptoms of a coronavirus, will be designated where a staff member or a patron will remain until they can go home or safely leave. The room will be cordoned off for 24 hours, after someone has been placed in it. If we can we will open the windows. After the 24-hour period, the room will be professionally cleaned with soap and water then disinfected.

New Cleaning Guidelines From Pandemic Plan:
Opening:
Staff member #1
Wipe down with disinfectant wipes or cleaner:
Door handles
Tops/backs of plastic/wood chairs
Check-in station
Self-checks, clean and then clean screens with Windex
Cart/book truck handles
Any other areas you see fit to clean
Staff member #2 - Service Desk staff member
Wipe down with disinfectant wipes or cleaner:
Service desk surfaces
Computers
Monitors
Scanners
Mice
Copier/print station (public and staff)
Any other areas you see fit to clean
Staff member #3 - PIC
Wipe down with disinfectant wipes or cleaner:
Public computers, clean and then clean screens with Windex
Catalog computers, clean and then clean screens with Windex
Maker Studio computers, clean and then clean screens with Windex
iPads, clean and then clean screens with Windex
Mice
Any other areas you see fit to clean
Cleaning after opening:
Service Desk staff members
Wipe down with disinfectant wipes or cleaner throughout the shift:
Service Desk
Computers—clean after every user
Mice
Scanners
Any other areas you see fit to clean
PIC - wipe down surfaces while patrolling

Resources to refer to:
ala.org
cdc.gov
epa.gov

Here is a link to another reopening plan that is in phases from a Wyoming library that is more generic:
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2flibrary.wyo.gov%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2020%2f04%2fStaged-Reopening-Plan.pdf&c=E,1,BBNkC-lDA3dWz44jntIB-bYJlYTHbjOyTlTwk5l0iR-uea8Zbr5XHaWqzq5a8pdLPOPb2JV70YnJ5OKd7sEJk_bDdjp4TfvAphMkvoYLMi2F&typo=1



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