This Staff Association forum thread is dedicated to talking about COVID and the repercussions it is causing within Metro. This is a place to share how you are adapting to the various phases of re-opening, what is or is not working for your location, and have other relevant discussions. It is also a place to see how others are handling the same things, and to share ideas and support for one another. We hope to see honest and uplifting conversations here – we do not want to gloss over the difficulties, but we also do not want to get stuck thinking only about the negative aspects.
Remember, Staff Association exists to Advocate for, Engage with, and Support all Metro staff. We will be following along with the conversation here, but this space is designated for staff - that's you - to share what you want to talk about, so that we can engage with what affects you most and learn how to best support and advocate for you both now and in the future.
I know I'm only proxy for AL but I wanted to go ahead and give my views on COVID within the system.
I found our papers that have all the places nearby for printing services and the PrinterOn instructions we posted outside have been very helpful.
It has been hard to turn away simple copies and faxes and are hoping to allow that soon.
Lucky, we are near the SW OKC Pioneer Library and can send customers there for most things we can't offer.
We also have been making window displays to draw customers in to borrow books.
Thanks for your hardwork SA! <3
Thank you for sharing, Kassandra! (As a side note, even though this thread is nested under Member Forum, everyone is welcome to join the conversation here, regardless of how active you are in Staff Association.)
Kudos for being prepared with resources and alternatives for customers! It is hard to turn away requests which we normally would fulfill; it goes against everything in our usual mindset. Here at MC we also have a "cheat sheet" of local businesses that are offering copy, fax, and computer use services. Hopefully conditions will improve soon so that we can safely offer these things (and more) again.
Could you share about some of the window displays you guys have put up? I love this idea; it sounds like a great use of your space!
Yes, we had our three full time AS's do a full table display and our part time AS's worked together on a standing display. Lucky the entire front of our building is glass so it's perfect for window displays. Our displays are on the adult side and our Engagement staff used the other half of the windows for Children's book displays. The adult window displays are much like regular displays where we picked a theme and decorated it. One is flower and romance themed, one is summer and beach themed, one is nothing but new movies, and the last one is graphic novels. We've been getting a good amount of checkouts for both the children's and adult items because of this.
I would love to see pics of your displays! Especially the DVD one.
I'm in Cataloging. I've heard that we're ordering fewer DVDs because the shelves are too full and customers choose DVDs by browsing, which isn't possible right now. I wondered if there was a way to fill up the windows with DVDs so that customers could see them and get excited and check them all out so we could buy more of them so I could catalog them. Because it's really about me, apparently. :D
https://www.instagram.com/tea4bookishwolf/
Those look fantastic!!! The artwork is amazing!!
Cindy.
Good morning all!
First, I want to say that I’m in total awe of the librarians and staff making this work – going out into the heat and managing to stay passionate about serving our customers anyway possible. I love displays so if you have a good window display it would be great to see them!
Covid impacted our department as well. For various reasons we had not been able to order at our full capacity until last week. I know there are books customers want that either haven’t arrived due to shipping delays or because they are waiting to be ordered. We have to prioritize right now. It’s frustrating but we hope most of the customers get the books they want.
Thanks for sharing about the impacts on your department, Sadie! It's good to hear that you guys are back to full ordering capacity now. I'm sure it will take a while for everything to catch up, especially if shipping delays continue, but it is good to know that new things are coming. I imagine it would be very frustrating to be in that position of not being able to do much, and we appreciate your prioritizing!
I am afraid of losing my health insurance if we are closed for again for a extended time.
That's a valid fear, Sarah. Of course we all hope that we don't have to close again for such an extended time, but in the event we do, that could be a significant concern.
I'm also hoping that won't happen :(
I understand completely, Sarah. That is something I wanted to at least discuss in the next SA meeting. We all, of course, hope an extended closure like the one in the spring doesn't happen again, buuuuut 2020 has been nothing if not unbelievable.
It seems like we're seeing more walk-up customers wearing masks, which is highly encouraging! However, we continue to have a few without masks that are very comfortable trying to get extremely close. Gently reminding people to maintain distance has been challenging, but the practice has certainly helped with any issues of assertiveness I previously had :D
Ask A Manager had some scripts that I found helpful! Here are a few that might be okay to say to customers:
“Could you back up a few feet to give us both more space?”
“I’m going to move my chair over here so there’s more space between us.”
“Before we go on, would you mind adjusting your mask so it’s covering your nose as well? I’m trying to be really careful.”
“Before we start, would you mind wearing a mask? I’m high-risk/live with someone who’s high-risk/trying to be really careful. I’ll of course keep one on myself too.”
I have never managed to use the nose one. I still don't know how to deal with nose people. I feel so uncomfortable with them because they know exactly what they're doing, and they know that I know that they know what they're doing.
https://www.askamanager.org/2020/06/i-went-to-a-job-interview-where-they...
If you don't have time to read a whole article, I found this part particularly valuable:
"Some of it too, though, is mental. It’s the work of getting clear in your own mind that it’s okay to assert yourself to protect your safety, even if it feels awkward or uncomfortable and even if it annoys someone else. Most of us know that in theory, but your brain will still often default to Don’t Make A Scene until you take the time to really process what prioritizing your safety means (“it means I will say things like X or Y” and “it means I might create a moment of weirdness, and I’m okay with that”)."
Amazing resources! Thank you so much!! I am definitely passing these links around :D (Or, really, the link to this forum haha).
Could the forum link be pinned to the top of the Intranet home page? I notice the original article has fallen way down the home page as other things get posted. We need more people in here!
Great suggestion; the post is now pinned at the top of the home page!
I feel our curbside service is important and running well, and I'm so happy to see our customers briefly. I do, however, miss having substantial interactions with our customers. I miss seeing those customers I've grown fond of. :(
Same here; I know that we are doing the best that we can, but a brief phone conversation or wave at curbside just isn't the same. There's a level of tension between the "head-knowledge" of knowing the necessity of the way we are doing things, and the emotional side of missing out on the substantial interactions we were used to.
I would really like us to think creatively and find a way for people to be able to do a few vital services. In some areas there aren't a lot of places one can go to make a copy or fax important papers, and they really need the library. It seems we spend more contact with a person telling them they can't fax or copy then allow them to come in with a mask properly worn (covering nose and mouth) and understand that it's self-serve, and we can't touch their documents. We could look at allowing certain hours for this service. It might not work at every library the same, but in some locations the copier is close to the door, so there wouldn't be a lot of interaction.
Thanks for sharing these suggestions, Ann! I would encourage you to discuss this with your local management, as they can bring up these considerations in meetings and conversations about system-wide service offerings. I'll mention it to my manager as well, and put it on the agenda for discussion at our next SA meeting. Creativity and adaptation are definitely more important than ever these days!