Facility concerns, operational issues, or utility outages may necessitate temporarily closing one or more of our facilities until the situation is corrected. The executive director delegates responsibility for the decision to close or remain open to the library manager who will consult with a senior manager of libraries and/or the chief library officer.

A decision to close a library is made after reviewing information from the on-site local library management team member and considering all known factors, including:

• input from Maintenance and/or IT
• the exact nature of the operational or facility failure
• the time of day (daylight or after sundown)
• outside temperature
• the number of operating hours remaining that day
• any information from utility provider on expected timeframe for restoration
• proximity of nearby restroom facilities

Note: Evacuations due to emergency concerns such as threats of fire, tornado, bomb, etc. will follow authorities' instructions. Operational issues, such as insufficient staff reporting to work, are addressed immediately by the manager or his/her designee.

Utility outages can affect electricity, water, air conditioning, heat, sewage, and data circuits/computers. The following conditions are intended to serve as a guide in decision making, not a prompt for an automatic response.

• Extreme temperatures in the library: Temperatures of less than 58 degrees or greater than 86 degrees sustained for one hour regardless of daylight may justify closing the library. These temperatures are 10 degrees above/below the OSHA recommended thermal comfort range of 68-76. (Source: OSHA Policy on Indoor Air Quality). The manager or his /her designee will assess the temperature within the public area using a thermometer supplied by Maintenance.
• Loss of electricity occurring during daylight hours which impacts operations: The library may close after one hour of loss if warranted.
• Loss of electricity occurring when it is dark which impacts operations: The library may close after the process for closing announcements is complete if warranted.
• Loss of water and/or sewage which impacts operations: The library may close after approximately 30 minutes of loss as warranted, regardless of time of day.

Notifications and reassignment steps:

1. After the decision to close has been made, the closing library’s contact person (local library management team member or senior manager) sends an email to the Library Management Team group indicating the need to reassign staff and requests a quick reply by phone to work out the details.
2. The contact person will also communicate the impending closure to Maintenance and IT. The contact person must confirm these departments have received the message by either an email reply or phone conversation.
3. When the library closes, staff prepare for reassignment and leave after 30 more minutes if the situation is not corrected (utility restored, sufficient staff arrive to work, systems begin to work and improve the temperature inside, etc.). If the reason for closing is no longer valid prior to staff leaving, the library will reopen and the departments listed above must be notified.
4. The contact person will text or call the designated Web Development and Marketing contacts via cell phone and alert them to notify the public through the web and social media.
5. The contact person will ensure that an email is sent to all correspondents saying that the library is closed and at what time it closed.
6. The Senior Manager will keep the Chief Library Officer aware of the situation via text or call.
7. Any staff not needed to fill in staffing shortages will report to either the large library in their group (WR to DN, CL to CT) or to the closest large library (Edmond, Midwest City, Northwest, Southern Oaks or Downtown) as those locations are best able to absorb additional staff.
8. All staff must be ready to report back to their home location should the utility be restored. If the utility returns with three hours of normal operating time left, staff will return and reopen the library.
9. Maintenance and/or IT will assist in monitoring the status of the outage and notifying the contact person when the utility is restored. When power is known to be restored, the contact person will be notified, and they in turn will notify the Library Management Team group and provide instructions as to whether reassigned staff are to return to their library(ies) and reopen.
10. When staff return and a library is reopened, the contact person will ensure that an email is sent to all correspondents saying that the library is open and at what time it opened.
11. The contact person will call the designated Web Development and Marketing contacts via cell phone so that they can notify the public through the web and social media.
12. If the utility goes out within three hours of closing, staff will be allowed to go home after the designated waiting period instead of being reassigned.

Any variation or questions related to these procedures can be discussed with the chief library officer or executive director.