Best Practices and Recommendations for Ohio’s Public Libraries under COVID-19
UPDATE: Ohio’s pandemic health orders expired June 2, 2021.
In 2020, the Ohio Library Council put together recommendations and best practices for public libraries in order to ensure a safe environment for staff and customers during COVID-19.
This information served as a guide for libraries and is only listed here for historical reference.
As of June 2, 2021, most of Ohio’s pandemic health orders – mask mandate, capacity limits and social distancing rules expired. Unvaccinated Ohioans must continue to wear masks. An individual is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines or two weeks after the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Updated mask signage is available at coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Best Practices and Recommendations for Ohio’s Public Libraries
[valid May 3, 2020 – June 2, 2021]:
- Best Practices and Recommendations
- Safe Handling of Materials
- Healthy Habits
- PPE for Libraries (Group purchasing for OLC Institutional Members only)
- Libraries distribute at-home COVID-19 testing kits
- Consumer, Retail, Services & Entertainment Sectors (PDF)
This information applied to public libraries and Ohio Department of Health Orders expired on June 2, 2021
Face Mask/Facial Covering:
- OLC Updated Mask/No Mask Signage (PDF)
- Updated ODH mask signage (PDF)
- CDC Guidance
Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
(May 16, 2021)
NOTE: Ohio’s health orders were lifted on June 2, 2021
- Please Wait Here Floor Sign — PDF | Word Doc
- Observe Distancing — PDF | Word Doc
- 6 Feet Apart Sign — PDF | Word Doc
- Library Capacity — PDF | Word Doc
- Stop Do Not Enter Sign (PDF)
- Curbside Pick Up sign (PDF) | Word Doc
Practice physical distancing during pick up and delivery by talking with the customer through a passenger window, loading items directly into the customer’s trunk without contact, or making labeled items available at the door or inside pick-up lockers. - Self-Checkout sign (PDF) | Word Doc
If your library has self-checkout, have customers check out their own materials.
Healthy habits:
We all know we should wash our hands often and for at least 20 seconds, but when we get busy – a quick reminder is helpful. Be sure to post hygiene recommendations from the CDC and Ohio Department of Health around the library, especially in breakrooms and restrooms.
UPDATE 6/2/21: Many of Ohio’s public libraries have reduced or eliminated quarantine time.
- In guidance posted on April 5, 2021, the CDC noted that “the risk of fomite transmission after a person with COVID-19 has been in an indoor space is minor after 3 days (72 hours), regardless of when it was last cleaned.”
- The CDC has acknowledged that “spread from touching surfaces is not thought to be a common way that COVID-19 spreads.” Also, microbiologist Emanuel Goldman noted in an article in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal that “the chance of transmission through inanimate surfaces is very small, and only in instances where an infected person coughs or sneezes on the surface, and someone else touches that surface soon after the cough or sneeze (within 1–2 h).”
- Has the Era of Overzealous Cleaning Finally Come to an End?
New York Times, April 8, 2021 - Quarantining guidance by state (PDF)
