Mahomet Public Library operates in a world of unknowns

The Mahomet Public Library continues to operate in the world of unknowns.

The library, which closed its doors on March 12 as Illinois prepared to navigate Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order, still does not know when the building will reopen, but director John Howard told the board of trustees via Zoom on April 13 that when it does, it will probably happen in phases. 

“We will have the staff come in for a couple of days before we open to the public to give a chance for some of that backlog of books that are out to get returned, and to get us prepared for it. 

“We’re waiting for better guidance on this. There’s been some guidance, but it’s not been great in terms of, what are we going to have to do safety-wise from materials that are being returned? How do we handle the materials? How soon do we have a material that comes into the backdrop, for instance, from a patron, how soon is it safe for that item to go on to someone else?”

Howard said that as libraries get closer to reopening, expert organizations will provide guidance for this issue.

In order to keep patrons safe, Howard said that the phased re-opening might include just opening book drops to gather materials that are out, initially, then providing curbside pickup or limited hours for a while. Or he said that it might mean the building is open, but restrictions on congregating or computer use might be in place. 

No decisions have been made yet, though. Howard said that the library will need to wait until state restrictions are lifted to make final procedures. 

“Until we know what the new restrictions are going to be after these are lifted, then we’re not gonna be able to say for sure what we’re going to do,” Howard said.

When making the decision, though, Howard said that his priorities will be with the safety and health of staff and patrons.

Howard said that the library staff did have discussions about four weeks ago about opening the library lockers for patrons to pick up requested materials, but they decided against it.

“It was really more about just the stay-at-home order is stay at home,” Howard said. “If we’re offering something that’s not considered essential with what the authorities have laid out, then we shouldn’t be encouraging people to go out.”

The Mahomet Public Library is continuing to provide materials in electronic format, though. 

According to the treasurer’s report, the library spent $3,600 on e-materials in March. 

Howard said that e-materials are very expensive, but “we tried to ramp up what we had and use the rest of our budget for the year” to get those filled up as much as possible. 

He continued to say that if it appears that the stay-at-home order will continue on, the library will cut back on purchasing physical copies of some of the “B and C-tier authors” and redirect some of the money to e-resources.

The library has also worked to engage the community over the last six weeks. 

Popular programming like storytime and Lego Club cannot happen at the building, so they are being offered on Facebook. Patrons were also encouraged to submit spring photos and stories about how they spent their time during quarantine. 

“We’ve definitely pared down our program offerings just because we know that people are so inundated with things right now trying to figure out how to teach from home and learn from home and work from home, all these things,” Youth Services and Programming Librarian Maura Stutzman said. “But we still want to make sure we’re providing some sort of programming for our patrons, so that’s what we’re currently doing.”