While extensive emergency plans were already in place, they proved insufficient for the unexpected challenges of a pandemic. The trauma was compounded by revenue loss. We faced widespread furloughs or worse if unable to demonstrably serve county residents. Of concern were safety, circulation and curbside services, technology, programming, outreach and training and morale. Because compliance was paramount and any decisions made would affect the lives and livelihoods of all library staff, success was contingent on engaging everyone.

Based on experience gained through community engagement projects, the library quickly formed a steering committee of managers to oversee the creation of reopening plans. Six workgroups were tasked with researching and developing a multi-phase service model to address customer needs while prioritizing staff safety. Using a bottom-up approach, line staff were directly engaged in generating or reviewing the recommendations, which were vetted by the library’s leadership and county’s emergency response team for safety.

Because so many staff were involved, they were able to create extensive support resources, including the beta testing of a curbside service management software, scripted responses to difficult customer interactions, analysis tools to predict curbside staffing needs, detailed staff training and readiness checklists and many other aids to ensure the smooth transition through gradually expanding levels of public access. Feedback surveys indicated that 93% of staff felt the service model was successful.