Virginia's Academic Library Consortium

COVID-19: Reopening Libraries

Resources for Libraries:

• ACRL Pandemic Resources for Academic Libraries: Preparing to Reopen: https://acrl.libguides.com/pandemic/repoening.
• Guidance from the Colorado Library Consortium (CLiC) about returning to service and human resources issues: https://www.clicweb.org/returning-to-service-libraries-and-covid-19/.
• "A Phased Reopening Plan for Libraries as COVID 19 Restrictions Are Lifted" by John Thill, Meridian Library District in Idaho: https://medium.com/@john.alan.thill/a-phased-reopening-plan-for-libraries-as-covid-19-restrictions-are-lifted-2d96885c0c1d.
• Sample "Library Workflow for Handling Returned Items – COVID-19 Best Practices": https://docs.google.com/document/d/1st-NouL1ToQHFnyXp9kflIN08r6_OCAQ87Qo68SVJls/edit. 
• American College Health Association’s Considerations for Reopening Institutions of Higher Education in the COVID-19 Era: https://www.acha.org/documents/resources/guidelines/ACHA_Considerations_for_Reopening_IHEs_in_the_COVID-19_Era_May2020.pdf.
• Australian Library and Information Association's "Checklist for Reopening Libraries": https://www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/Reopening%20Libraries.pdf.
• IFLA Reopening Libraries: https://www.ifla.org/covid-19-and-libraries#reopening.
• The Chronicle of Higher Education's "Here’s a List of Colleges’ Plans for Reopening in the Fall": https://www.chronicle.com/article/Here-s-a-List-of-Colleges-/248626.
• Duke University's Guide for Returning to the Workplace: https://coronavirus.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Return-to-the-Workplace.pdf.

• Best Practices for Ohio’s Public Libraries under COVID-19: http://olc.org/reopening-oh-libraries/.

• The REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) Project has produced a systematic literature review to help inform the scope of the project’s research and the information needs of libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs).

Resources Compiled for Patrons:

• Spanish-language COVID-19 resources: VT tinyurl.com/apoyo-blacksburg ; UVA tinyurl.com-apoyo-charlottesville ; W&M tinyurl.com/apoyo-williamsburg ; GMU tinyurl.com/apoyo-nova.

General Tips:

• Participation on or input to institutional committees related to reopening is helpful for libraries, and a library presence on student life committees can be especially useful.
• Place signage in multiple locations about social distancing requirements. 
• Put furniture in storage to help with social distancing.
• Remove selected keyboards and mice and place out of order signs on every other computer.
• Put tape on the floor to show social distancing spacing.
• Add clear plastic guards at areas of interaction with staff and between computer terminals.
• Consider setting up one-way walking paths through high traffic areas. 

Last updated on November 17, 2020.