Blurred Line Between Safety and Service
At the inception of COVID-19 safety precautions, institutions were faced with the obligation to close their doors to the public for the
overall safety of themselves and their community. In the first four months of reopening, the lines of precaution and safety were clear at
my library:
*hours were adjusted from 10:00 AM-5:00PM
*no more Saturday hours or evening hours
*six public computers were available out of twenty-four
*Wi-Fi was available for parking lot use
*no in-person programming
*no helping patrons directly
*one-hour time restraints for library use
*no faxing, no copying, nor guest passes
*fines were waived
*books were quarantined for 72 hours.
By October 2020 as the state of Florida moved into phase three, we slowly extended our services: we bought a new, simpler copy machine that patrons could operate on their own; we opened twelve of twenty-four public computers; books were quarantined for 48-hours; fines were implemented; six chairs were provided throughout the library so patrons could sit for up to two hours; we allowed donations for the bookstore again; and library workers are doing their best to indirectly assist patrons.
On the front line, I have helped landlords and tenants find the necessary documents to settle or articulate their claims in the midst
of a housing crisis. I have assisted patrons urgently seeking to print living wills, powers of attorney, and FMLA forms, so that children and caregivers can legally look after their ill loved ones when time was of the essence. I have helped patrons figure out how they can receive COVID-19 payments from the government. We provided voter registration forms and personally sent in applications for patrons in a very important election race. The county supplied our branch 6,000 masks to distribute for free.
As the days pass, I realize that the community needs the library, always. Members of the community are on the phone line before our
doors open. They are at the door waiting on us at 10 A.M., and they are leaving here when we close the doors at 5 P.M. At this moment, the
free masks have run out and it is truly up to the patron to wear a mask to stop the spread. In the event a patron does not have a mask,
the chances of emission will increase between staff and user and user to user. How much longer can we deny patrons the help they need while protecting our own lives in the process?
We have decided to purchase a number of new laptops in order to be able to increase and improve the user experience through
demonstrations. The world is moving more and more into digital spaces, but there is an alarming number of the population who still do not know how to confidently open their email from the desktop or have never used Microsoft Office. How do we increase the population’s information literacy now more than ever?
As the pandemic continues, how do library workers stay safe and still provide the services desperately needed in our communities?
Tags: covid19
