Check out this excerpt from an article on the Programming Librarian website from the ALA:

August 12, 2020 By Chelsea Price, Director, Meservey (Iowa) Public Library

“Welp. After writing a post just a few months ago about my anxiety surrounding re-opening, my library is now closed … for a second time. We closed in March, then opened again in mid-May, after the governor declared that libraries were among the first wave of places allowed to re-open.

All seemed fine at first: our toys were put away, the computers were appointment-only, and everyone was encouraged to grab their materials (after sanitizing) and then leave.

If your library can’t require patrons to wear masks, you can still encourage masking through programs and behavior. Image courtesy of Hafuboti.com. (Click to download!)But then the community spread started. I learned that several patrons had tested positive for COVID after having been in the library — mask-less — just a few days prior. Those patrons had dinner with some other patrons, who met yet another patron for coffee … and the spread continued. As our library is tiny (just one large room), all the cleaning in the world can’t protect us if a person with the virus is in the building. I closed immediately.

That was three weeks ago. Though the community spread seems to have waned, I am hesitant to open again. My original gut instinct —  to keep the library closed in the first place —  was correct, and I should have trusted it. Our state’s numbers have never steadily declined, and it is the only state with no mask mandate in place that also requires in-person schooling with no mask requirement in classrooms. I worry that that Iowa is going to become even more of a disaster when school starts, and I don’t want to play this “open-close-open-close” game. “

• Show young patrons that masks are nothing to be afraid of
• Incorporate masks into your story times
• Beef up your signage
• Set a good example

Check out the rest of this article here, with all the links and good information!