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Contact Us
The MHLS Bulletin welcomes submissions from member libraries.
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) arrived in the Hudson Valley last week and the unprecedented response is hugely impacting daily life. Federal, state, county and local officials are declaring states of emergency, there are widespread school closures, and pleas from public health officials for "social distancing" have resulted in the leadership of our member libraries, as well as the Mid-Hudson Library System, to make some difficult decisions.
As of the writing of this issue of the MHLS Bulletin more than half of our member libraries have chosen to close the doors to their facilities through the end of the month to aid in the international effort to "flatten the curve." This phrase is one you have likely heard quite a bit recently as public health officials urge us all to mindfully work towards slowing the spread of the Coronavirus to ensure our healthcare system capacity is not overwhelmed.
As a result, MHLS will be suspending delivery services through the end of the month beginning on Thursday, March 19th.
This decision was developed in consultation with MHLS staff, the leadership of the MHLS Directors Association and the MHLS Board of Trustees. As you can imagine, this decision was not taken lightly. A combination of public health concerns as well as the logistic realities of our cooperative public library system call for this measure to support the majority of our libraries who have decided to suspend public services during this challenging time.
Suspension of Holds and Delivery Services to Member Libraries
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- Holds will be suspended effective 3:00pm Monday, March 16, 2020 for all libraries.
- Existing holds will also be suspended at this time, and will be unsuspended when delivery resumes.
- For member libraries who notified MHLS staff of their intent to close on or before Monday, March 16, 2020 delivery was suspended on Monday, March 16, 2020.
- Delivery will be suspended for all remaining member libraries effective Thursday, March 19, 2020. The last day of regular delivery will be Wednesday, March 18, 2020.
- Delivery Services will be suspended until at least Tuesday, March 31, 2020 with a reassessment of these services conducted by MHLS staff, the leadership of the MHLS Directors Association and the MHLS Board of Trustees by Friday, March 27, 2020.
Suspension of Interlibrary Loan (ILL):
- Materials ordered by member libraries from other libraries outside of the Mid-Hudson Library System's five county region will be suspended effective Monday, March 16, 2020.
- Member libraries may return ILL materials to MHLS offices until delivery services are restored.
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MHLS Announcements
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MHLS is suspending all in-person continuing education and professional development events for the remainder of March. We will be either rescheduling events or converting them to online events. If you are registered for anything on the calendar during this period, expect to receive a direct message as to what the plan is for that event.
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MHLS has created a resource page
to help gather all of the pertinent resources that have been issued that can help library leaders make the best decisions possible in this situation. We will continue to regularly update this page:
https://midhudson.org/covid19/
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Professional Development
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COVID-19 Related Webinars:
Navigating the Impact of COVID-19, Tuesday, March 17th at 4:00pm.
For more information visit,
https://bit.ly/2UbvmWJ
Librarians Respond to Coronavirus and Other Pandemics, Thursday, March 26th at 4:00pm.
For more information visit,
https://bit.ly/39MJxb7
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Administration & Management
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The American Library Association has provided a list of topics for library leaders to think through when crafting policy in the face of a pandemic:
- Criteria for closing the library
- Employee policies for sick leave, payroll and banking/financial issues, working from home
- Mandated documentation of procedures or cross training so others can take over for sick employees
- Policies for social distancing -- that is, removing a number of chairs so people aren't sitting close to each other, or limiting the number of people who can come in at any one time, or taking out coat racks, and similar things that keep people and their belongings separate from each other
- Criteria for suspending storytimes and other library programs
- Provision of masks and gloves along with the training of staff in their removal and disposal
- Standards for the cleaning of bathrooms, railings and doorknobs, telephones, keyboards, counters, and cleaning of workstations/offices of employees who go home sick, emptying of wastebaskets, etc.
- Setting a schedule for seeing to the critical needs of the facility if the library is closed for an extended time (boiler and building checks by custodians, book drop, payroll and banking considerations)
- Communications plan for reaching staff and for communicating with the public
- Means for continuing to provide information services for the public, such as online ordering of materials and pick up from a table in the lobby at certain times, or expansion of online services
- Accommodation of the needs of underprivileged people in the community who may not have a home subscription to the local newspaper or a working home computer
- Education of the public in advance of an epidemic
Source
: Pandemic Preparedness, American Library Association,
A little levity...
Libraries across the country have been working to help people learn how long 20 seconds of handwashing really is by providing signage in library restrooms and posts to social media with the lyrics to songs with a 20-second chorus such as "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers," "His Cheeseburger" from Veggie Tales, and "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift."
Photo courtesy of Sarah Hoeksema, Library Marketing and Outreach Facebook Group
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