Thursday, November 19, 2020

No longer quarantining returned materials--talking points

Submitted by Stephen Kight

As you know, beginning today we will no longer be quarantining returned materials.  Please refer to the questions and answers below to help you provide information to patrons as needed.  If there are additional questions that would be helpful to you, please let your supervisor know.

Q: Why aren’t you quarantining returned materials anymore?

A: Public health agencies, including the CDC, now have more confidence that COVID-19 is spread primarily from person to person, rather than through contact with contaminated surfaces.  Also, because our collections are completely open for browsing, there was never any guarantee that a book picked up by a patron had not been touched by another person before.

Q: Since you’re no longer quarantining materials, will the library be accepting book donations?

A: We realize that is the logical next step after not quarantining materials, and we hope to announce a date we will begin accepting book donations again in the near future.

Q: If you don’t need the meeting rooms and study rooms to store quarantined materials, will those rooms be opening soon?

A: We’re continuing to use those rooms for a variety of purposes, including storing furniture and allowing space for staff to work and take breaks in order to properly social distance.  Also, before we reopen the rooms we want to be confident that making space available for groups to meet is not going to endanger public health, so we are monitoring recommendations for group gathering sizes.

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