Library Board approves gradual reopening plan

Staff and officials of the Putnam County Public Library did what they believed was best by closing the building back in March. Now, they have a fluid plan for reopening the library.

Library Director Matt McClelland laid out to the Library Board how this multi-phase plan could work during its regular session held remotely through Zoom a week ago.

He posited that there were two main questions which he and the board had to address: when to put Phase 1 into effect, and how to pay staff.

Phase 1 of the plan includes the following guidance for staff:

-- Library staff would at first only be permitted into the building, with a minimum amount of people to provide patron services;

-- Staff to be provided with training and technology needed to engage with patrons remotely;

-- Staff are to be screened for temperatures and symptoms of COVID-19;

-- Increased disinfecting of lobby area and surfaces; and

-- Library will be closed for at least 72 hours immediately if there is a positive test.

Phase 1 also includes the following guidelines with regard to patron services:

-- Limited curbside service, with contact with patrons through placing items in trunks only;

-- Book service via calls, Evergreen holds and email;

-- Appointment-only, emergency public use of a laptop computer, copier and printer in the lobby;

-- Programs provided via livestream/video only; and

-- A limit on checkouts based on staff ability and quarantine procedures.

Phase 2 of the plan would include the above, except that the library would return to full hours and no appointments would be necessary for lobby services.

The full plan can be viewed here.

In essence, Phase 3 would see a gradual reduction of previous restrictions, with Phase 4 signaling a return to normal programming and library services in the building.

The plan was contingent on Gov. Eric Holcomb’s COVID-19 update held last Friday afternoon. The governor announced that the state would move forward with a “measured” reopening of businesses and gatherings of 25 people starting Monday.

McClelland provided during the meeting that most libraries in the state are planning on limited openings with curbside service sometime this month. He said these decisions were local, as libraries are “borderline essential services.”

He gave a date of Monday, May 11, at the earliest, to begin bringing staff back to the building and conducting training for patron services. He added that larger libraries could possibly wait until Memorial Day.

McClelland still provided that screening of staff could remain difficult with the use of thermometers, with there still being risks of cross-infection inherent with handling these instruments.

Regardless, the board agreed in total that the plan had to be flexible given the nature of where the reopening process may stand.

Board Vice President David Taylor opined that the date could be “on the cusp of being aggressive,” but concurred that McClelland had to have authority to make changes as needed.

McClelland emphasized that the patron services would begin a week after the library is opened to employees. He also acknowledged that staff have been divided, with some still not comfortable returning to work.

The board approved a motion to adopt the tentative plan, and also gave McClelland the power to adapt. The motion also included an amendment for asking questions and taking the temperatures of library staff.

McClelland issued a statement on the library’s website Monday affirming the plan to reopen the library to staff next Monday. He added that it was hoped that cubside service, emergency computer use and remote departmental access could be provided beginning on Monday, May 18.

“I would ask that you please bear with us during the next few weeks as we try to figure all of this out,” he wrote. “Judging by the support and patience you have shown thus far, that is the least of my concerns.”