I would like to share with you the planning for reopening the libraries within the MLS system. Therefore, I would like you to know about the plan and the thinking behind it.
It is when communities are in crisis that the libraries can be of great benefit to the community they serve. As in Ferguson when the public library remained open to serve the public as a place of peace within the chaos of the community; as in the Brooklyn Library serving as a community support center helping displaced people recover their lives and seek aid in the great damage from Superstorm Sandy engulfing New York City; so now must our library step forward and provide assistance and service to our community in these times of Covid and its impact in our communities.
Our library has a history in helping the city in challenging times. In the 1918 pandemic, what would become the MLS library provided staff to operate the city's telephone operator station to connect people to the resources and agencies they needed when the whole operator staff was hit with the Spanish Flu. The library also served as an aid station to those working with the sick and recovering and a supply distribution point. So, we have done this before.
Now as a public service organization with a public service mission, MLS needs to resume our engagement with our customers to provide needed public services in these challenging times. We are being asked by our communities to provide the library services they need to respond to the Covid crisis. So, we must resume our provision of services, but in doing so, we will prioritize and balance the mission of the library with the safety of our staff members.
MLS will be engaging in the next steps of reopening beginning August 31, 2020. The planning for reopening the library is based on a holistic and objective approach and will emphasize the safety of the staff while we are doing it. We will be using CDC guidelines and the Oklahoma State Department of Health, which provides a color coded “at risk” alert system by county to determine which step of the reopening we should be in as we progress. For more information or to check the current status of Oklahoma County, please visit: https://coronavirus.health.ok.gov/covid-19-alert-system [1]
We are communicating the plan and the criteria for implementing each step of the process of reopening to you in advance. As the County risk status changes, we will change our step of service reopening to correspond accordingly, either forward (towards Green) or backward (towards Red) as the county's status indicates. There is no predetermined timetable for moving to another step; we will follow the State's risk assessment status as it develops. Everyone will be able to monitor the status to know where we will be in the reopening. Presently we are in the Orange status, so we will be using the "Grab and Go" steps below to implement our reopening. Please find the details of the plan listed below.
In addition to the safety precautions we have taken, we have a new element of safety we can now use in our reopening process that we did not before: requiring mask use by all customers. Because of the new mask requirement ordinances throughout the county, as a library system, we can now require customers to use masks when in all of our facilities during the duration of these ordinances. We will be posting signage on all facilities' doors to let customers know that a mask will be required for entry into the building. If a customer does not to wear a mask, then either contact the security guard for assistance or inform the customer that they will need to have a mask in order for you to assist them. The status of current mask ordinances is below:
Masks are required at locations inside the cities who have mandated it.
Staff will be given at least a five (5) day notice prior to moving forward into a next stage.
This phase starts with Supervisory staff returning to work, prior to full staff returning and schedules adjusted for the hours supervisory/Librarian-in-charge staff are in the building. All hours worked in building should be entered in pay.com as regular.
Work to be done during this stage includes:
Services Include:
Hours (to the public)*:
*The hours at HA, JN, LU, NP, WR will be regular hours of operation.
Focus
Providing customers with holds checked out to the customer and delivered to their car when they arrive at the library and call. We recognize this process is labor intensive and all library staff should work to assist to deliver this service.
Because of the mask mandate issued by the City of Oklahoma City, masks (worn properly) are required in all locations.
Hours (to the public)*:
*This will shorten the hours by one hour each day (except Friday) to allow cleaning the building. The hours at HA, JN, LU, NP, WR will be regular hours of operation.
Services Include:
Focus
Customers to be more self-sufficient and spend minimal time in the building. The name of this stage is intentional to encourage customers not to linger. Staff need to focus on CAN – DO attitudes in messaging and frontline practice and find ways to safely interact with and assist customers.
Special Notes for staff:
Hours (to the public)*:
*This will shorten the hours by one hour each day to allow cleaning the building. The hours at HA, JN, LU, NP, WR will be regular hours of operation.
Services Include:
Focus
Increase our computer sessions, provide seating, and study rooms. Bonus bags will available by request, only.
Links:
[1] https://coronavirus.health.ok.gov/covid-19-alert-system
[2] https://my.metrolibrary.info/drupal/tags/covid-19
[3] https://my.metrolibrary.info/drupal/tags/coronavirus
[4] https://my.metrolibrary.info/drupal/tags/reopening
[5] https://my.metrolibrary.info/drupal/tags/executive-director-update