On the call were Chris DeChristofaro, Maurice Coleman, and Jill Hurst-Wahl. We talked about the topic that is on everyone’s mind – COVID-19 – and focused on the things our libraries need to be thinking about. And in the middle of the episode, Chris learned that his library will be closed tomorrow because of the virus. Yes, this “cow dung” is real!
As we talked, we mentioned these tips (and likely a few more):
- Wash your hands a lot!
- Keep equipment and surfaces clean.
- Understand how to communicate with your staff. Have good lines of communication (email, robocalls, etc.).
- Have a “what do we do if” plan for your staff.
- Provide staff resources (e.g., tech, access, files, etc.), in case staff have to work from home. Do people need secure access?
- Monitor your Internet and check that it is handling increased traffic.
- Consider limiting tech access, if you need to accommodate more people.
- Try to understand the impact of businesses and schools closing on your services and usage.
- Have access to verifiable information and share that information with others.
- Create COVID-19 resources for your community on the library web site.
These are serious times. Please be safe and join us in two weeks (March 26) for our next episode.
T is for Training 