Friday

A kind of lost day….spoke with Seth about David Ackerman. He is now confined to his house.

Worked with Emily Chameides on a pandemic policy for the library. Announced today that all programs and events at the library will be cancelled or postponed until April.

Lots of confusing policy statements from various government entities. Clear guidance about what we should be doing is lacking. Variously gatherings of more than 1,000, 500, 250, and 50 people have been banned. Projections of the future trajectory of the illness abound. One thing seems clear. It is important to slow down the spread of the illness so that hospitals are not over run. Columbia Memorial seems to have its act together. They have set up a triage van outside the hospital to keep suspect and real cases of COVID19 out of the hospital ER.

Reaction from library trustees to my call for canceling the March board meeting and annual meeting met with some outrage from a few. One board member, Julia Black, organized a videoconference. At Emily’s suggestion I have sent out a poll email to let people decide on their own. Maybe I am being too conservative and cautious.

Construction in Leiden

First pictures of work on double dormer at the kid’s house.

PANDEMIC POLICY

(Draft 3/13/2020)

Background

The purpose of this policy is to establish the protocol that will be used in the event of a pandemic. If there is a serious infectious disease outbreak, the library must plan for staff being unable to report to work. In addition, other public health measures may require limiting or canceling social and public gatherings, quarantines and/or other social distancing measures which can impact library hours and services. If there is a serious infectious disease outbreak, recovery may be slow and it is important to ensure that core business activities of the library can be maintained for several weeks or more with limited staff and reduced hours.   

The library staff and board are committed to providing excellent library service while doing all they can to support the health of the community.

Closure

The library will close due to pandemic if (1) the Hudson City School District closes (2) a mandate order or recommendation for closure is issued by public health or government officials on the local, county or state level (3) fewer than two staff members are able to report to work per shift. 

In the event of closure, the library director will contact all staff and volunteers and post a notice on the library website and social media pages.

No overdue charges will be assessed for library materials during this period. 

The exterior book drop will be kept open and will be cleared every four days as long as possible. 

In the event of a closure of more than five business days, the Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) will be notified and asked to remove the Hudson Area Library from the paging list for holds. As soon as a re-open date is confirmed, MHLS will be notified of the date.

Curtailed Hours

In that event that only two library staff are able to report to work, library hours will be curtailed. The temporary schedule will be determined by staff availability and announced on the library website and social media pages. 

Programs and Room Use

The library director and board president will determine if programs or room use should be curtailed or canceled. Cancelation notice will be sent to all registered participants and posted on the library website and social media pages.

Staffing and Compensation

If the library is open, healthy staff are expected to report to work.

In the event of curtailed hours or library closure necessitate by pandemic, staff will be paid for their regularly scheduled hours. Healthy staff will be expected to work their regular hours during periods of closure or curtailed hours, given the availability of projects. Staff unable to work due to illness will be paid for their regularly scheduled hours; full time staff will use paid time off, if available.

Communication

In the event of curtailed hours or closure necessitated by pandemic, effective communication is a priority. Information will be posted on the library’s homepage, social media pages, local media (Register Star), and on a sign at the entrance of the library. Every effort will be made to keep the information current.

Critical Administrative Tasks

Payroll: The library director and bookkeeper will maintain a list of regular staff hours, so that payroll may be submitted from offsite in the case of library closure.

Library bills: When possible, bills will be paid on-line by the library director or in the director’s absence by the bookkeeper.

Responsibility for Library Operations 

If for any reason the library director is unable or unavailable to perform the responsibilities and decisions outlined in this policy, administrative authority for this policy and all library operations shall be passed to the program director. If the program director is unable to perform the responsibilities and decisions, administrative authority will pass to the board president. 

Prevention

Surfaces and objects (keyboards, computer mice, doorknobs, light switches, desks, telephones, etc.) will be disinfected daily. Staff will be reminded of the importance of frequent and thorough hand washing.

If a serious infectious disease outbreak reaches our community, staff experiencing symptoms of an infectious disease will be advised to stay home. Visitors to the library will be encouraged to follow common public health advice. Signage will be posted at the library entrance encouraging those experiencing symptoms of infectious disease to not use the library facilities. Staff will disinfect areas touched by visitors exhibiting symptoms of illness.