Library Plans Reopen
McDonald County library director Amy Wallain said this week that the library has a plan for reopening its doors and beginning to serve patrons again after closing due to the covid-19 outbreak.
She said the staff is returning to work in-house in a limited fashion beginning Monday. The library also has a tentative plan of opening for curbside service starting the first week in June, provided the county is still doing well in terms of the virus, she said.
The board of directors and staff released a statement recently with more details.
It stated, “Using recommendations from Governor Parson, local health department officials, and the Missouri State Library, the McDonald County Library, along with all public libraries in our state, have a preliminary tiered plan for re-opening our libraries. A formal decision to reopen our doors will be made and shared in the near future.”
The statement pointed out that, as libraries are built on the
premise of sharing materials, extreme precautions must be taken.
“Over the next couple of weeks, library staff will be working at their branch locations to prepare their building for the new normal. Staff will be cleaning, reshelving books that have been returned in our drop boxes, preparing virtual programming to replace in-house programs, preparing a plan to provide curbside delivery and pickup of material, and readying the branches for social distancing when we do open for business again,” the statement said.
It further detailed that all returned library materials will be quarantined for 72 hours to prevent the spread of the virus to patrons or staff. Also, fines will be waived during the first stages of reopening.
“We know it is hard to wait for materials; we think so too. That is why we hope that you have been able to stay connected to the library through the use of our free Wi-Fi access in the parking lots of our branches and also
by making use of our e-material services. The library has been able to increase its budget for e-books and downloadable audiobooks, available with your library card, through Overdrive (Missouri Libraries 2 Go).
Additional free resources can be found using Tumble Books and Ebsco Host, all available through our website: www.mcdonald countylibrary.org,” according to the statement from the library said.
Finally, the statement encouraged patrons to be on the lookout for updates about the library’s summer reading program, which will look different this year but will still keep families reading through the summer, and to watch for more information on reopening plans.