1. The Chief Executive Officer, or their designee, will decide on any closure of libraries.
2. If the Library is open at the time of the closure decision, the Chief Executive Officer’s office will send an email notification to all correspondents. The automated notification system is not used when the Library is open. The Chief Executive Officer or their designee will alert the Unexpected Closure Group of an impending closure announcement using the IT-approved app/method to allow those personnel to begin communication and security protocols before sending the email notification to All Correspondents. When possible, a closure decision will be made, and notifications should begin by 6:30 A.M.                                                            The Unexpected Closure Group will consist of members of the Executive Council, Regional Directors, and designated members of Communications, Facilities Maintenance, Information Technology, Central Information Services, Outreach and Engagement Services, Development and Volunteer Services, and Security with responsibilities for communicating closures and securing facilities.
3. If the Library is closed at the time of a decision, the Chief Executive Officer or their designee will alert the Unexpected Closure Group of an impending closure announcement using the IT-approved app/method before sending the email notification to All Correspondents.
4. The Chief Technology Officer, or their designee, will initiate the automated emergency notification system to alert employees of the closure via their choice of communication (i.e., text, phone, or email).
5. The Director of Communications, or their designee, will immediately notify Oklahoma metropolitan area media outlets.
6. The CIS Manager and the Digital Services and Social Media Manager, or their designees, will immediately post an announcement on the Library’s webpage and on Library social media sites stating that all Library facilities and offices will be closed. Notification will include information that Library programs and Outreach events are canceled.
7. Library employees will cancel any planned programs online and email registered customers
8. Libraries and departments that utilize volunteers will notify scheduled volunteers of the closure.
9. CIS or their designated employees will email customers with meeting room bookings to notify them of the closure and the option to reschedule or receive a refund. Location staff will notify guests with study room bookings.
10. The Security Manager will notify any building tenants of the closure.
11. Outreach will email vendors or community partners regarding any Outreach events being canceled due to the closure.
12. The Network Administrator will update the telephone automated attendant for all libraries to indicate closure and will remove the message when the libraries reopen.
13. If the decision is made when the Library is open, employees will post closed signs at their library entrance before departing the premises. Signs can be downloaded from the Intranet under Departments/Marketing/Downloads/Printables.

For the communications plan to be effective, employees must adhere to the following: 

• The employee must keep contact information current using the Metropolitan Library System Contact Info portal. Visit the intranet page for instructions and links: my.metrolibrary.info/drupal/inclement-weather
• Managers will keep an up-to-date list of their employees’ telephone numbers with a copy of this procedure at home and at work in case additional communication is required.
• Outreach employees will keep contact information for scheduled community events, along with a copy of this procedure, at home and work in case communication about a closure is required. Employees should not call their manager.
• Development and location employees will keep contact information for scheduled volunteers, along with a copy of this procedure, at home and at work in case communication about a closure is required. Volunteers will be notified of the closure by their onsite manager.
• Employees may also visit www.metrolibrary.org or monitor local radio and television broadcasts for closing announcements. If the closing is shown on the Library’s website, employees can consider it official, even if they have not received a call; there is always a chance that the notification system could not reach them.
• For a delayed opening, employees are to arrive at work one hour before the scheduled time to open to the public.
• In the absence of any official closing announcement, employees are expected to attempt to report for work at their scheduled time.
• Short-term or Extended Closure: If a decision is made for the Library to be unexpectedly closed and an employee is already scheduled to be off work, has already requested leave, or has already called in a notification that they will be absent, the employee is not eligible for the closure pay and any scheduled leave will be charged to the employee.
• Short-term Full Day Closure: All employees will request unexpected closure pay in the Library’s payroll system for hours not worked.
• Extended Closure. All employees will request extended closure pay in the Library’s payroll system for hours not worked. 
• During an extended closure, the Human Resources department will attempt to contact employees who are non-responsive to communications after three consecutive days through written correspondence and/or corresponding with the employee’s emergency contact.
• Non-exempt employees canceling programs, communicating with customers, or doing work tasks during a system closure will adjust their timecards to indicate regular pay for hours worked.
• Short-term or Extended Closure: If a decision is made for the Library to be unexpectedly closed and an employee is already scheduled to be off work, has already requested leave, or has already called in a notification that they will be absent, the employee is not eligible for the closure pay and any scheduled leave will be charged to the employee.

Individual Library or Service Center Closure:

To provide favorable working conditions for employees and a comfortable environment for customers, individual library locations may be closed temporarily due to facility concerns, operational issues, or utility outages. 

Note: Evacuations due to emergency concerns such as fire threats, tornadoes, bombs, environmental hazards, etc., will follow authorities' instructions and/or emergency evacuation protocols.

The Chief Executive Officer delegates responsibility for the decision for an individual location to close or remain open to the library manager who will consult with their regional director and/or the Chief Guest Officer regarding the decision. 

When a decision to close a location has been made, the Chief Guest Officer or the Regional Director will alert the Unexpected Closure Group of any impending closure announcement using the IT-approved app/method. This will allow those personnel to begin implementing communication and security protocols before sending the email notification to All Correspondents.

A decision to close a Library is made after reviewing information from the on-site local library management team member, seeking information from departments to assist with the decision, 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 the utility provider on the expected timeframe for restoration
• proximity of nearby restroom facilities 

Utility outages can affect electricity, water, air conditioning, heat, sewage, and network equipment/computers. The following conditions are intended to serve as a guide in decisionmaking, 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 their designee will assess the temperature within the public area using a thermometer supplied by Facilities 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 sewer, which impacts operations: The library may close after approximately 30 minutes of loss as warranted, regardless of the time of day.

Communication: 

After the decision to close has been made, the closing library’s contact person (i.e., a local library management team member or regional director) will communicate the impending closure to Facilities Maintenance, IT, and CIS. The contact person must confirm these departments have received the message.  

1. Library employees will post a “Closed due to power outage, utility outage, etc.” sign at their library entrance before departing the premises. 
2. After the library closes, all employees will leave the building if the situation has not been corrected within 30 minutes (i.e., utility restored, sufficient employees arrive to work, systems begin to work, improving the temperature inside, etc.). If the reason for closing is no longer valid before employees leave, the library will reopen, and the departments listed above must be notified.
3. The contact person will ensure an email is sent to All Correspondents stating that the library is closed, including the closing time. The designated Communications, IT, and CIS contacts will notify the public through the web and social media.
4. Library employees will cancel any planned programs anticipated to be affected by the closure and email registered customers.
5. CIS or their designated employees will email customers with meeting room bookings to notify them of the closure and the option to reschedule or receive a refund. Location staff will notify guests with study room bookings.
6. Managers will notify volunteers scheduled to work at the location about the closure. 
7. The regional director will keep the Guest Services Officer and the Chief Executive Officer aware of the situation via text or call.
8. Facilities Maintenance and/or IT will assist in monitoring the outage status 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 will notify the Library Management Team group and provide instructions as to whether reassigned employees are to return to their library and reopen. 
9. . When employees return and a library is reopened, the contact person will ensure an email is sent to All Correspondents stating the library is open, including the opening time. The contact person will call the designated Communications, IT, and CIS contacts so that they can notify the public through the web and social media.

Reassignment of Employees: 

1. . After the decision to close has been made, the closing library’s contact person (i.e., local library management team member or regional director) will send an email to the Library Management Team group indicating the need to reassign employees and request a quick reply to work out the details.
2. After the library closes, all employees will leave the building if the situation has not been corrected within 30 minutes (i.e., utility restored, sufficient employees arrive to work, systems begin to work, improving the temperature inside, etc.). If the closure occurs more than three hours before regular closing time, employees will be reassigned to other locations for the remainder of their scheduled time. Managers should prioritize locations with staffing shortages first and nearby locations, including the Service Center, second when making assignments. If the utility returns or other operational issue is resolved with three hours of normal operating time left, Facilities Maintenance or IT will notify the contact person and employees will return and reopen the library.

Any variation or questions related to these procedures can be discussed with the Chief Guest Officer or the Chief Executive Officer.

Reopening the System or any individual library:

Reopening the System or an individual library:

1. After the decision to reopen has been made, the Chief Executive Officer or the closing library’s contact person (i.e., local library management team member or regional director) will alert the Unexpected Closure Group of an impending reopening announcement using the IT-approved app/method app and send an email to the Library Management Team group with details related to reopening the system or that individual library.
2. If it is a systemwide announcement, the Chief Executive Officer or their designee will send the All Correspondents email, otherwise the Library Management Team member or regional director will send the necessary announcement.