COVID-19 Resources

As the coronavirus situation changes, WVLS is posting up-to-date information about the status of our member libraries’ closings/reopenings, ways we can support our member libraries, and additional resources.

Wisconsin Public Libraries Reopening Guide (11/9/2020)
Guidelines for Reopening Timeline 
The Wheeler Report 

Status of WVLS Member Libraries

Resource Sharing Levels: Number listed in parentheses after each library. 
WVLS Resource Sharing Level 1 – No Materials Lending
WVLS Resource Sharing Level 2 – Local Materials Only
WVLS Resource Sharing Level 3 – In County Sharing
WVLS Resource Sharing Level 4 – V-Cat Wide Sharing

If your library should need to return to curbside service, temporarily close, re-open, or expand hours and services, please refer to this document for guidance.
See the “Courier” section on the right to view the most up-to-date delivery schedule.

Abbotsford Public Library: (4) Open. M & W: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. and F: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; T & R: 1 – 7 p.m.; First hour of operation reserved for at-risk populations. Curbside available during open hours, call 715-223-3920 ext. 1. Time limited to 15 minutes in library. Five public computers will be available for non-leisure use for an hour. Study rooms will be limited to 2 person per room. Max. occupancy of 22 patrons at one time.

Antigo Public Library: (4) Open with temporary new hours. Antigo: M – R, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; White Lake: M – R, 12 – 4 p.m.; Elcho: M , W, R: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Curbside service available upon request. Face masks are encouraged. Fines and fees will again accrue. All returns are to be placed in the outside book drops.

Colby Community Library: (4)  Open M, W, F: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., ; T & R: 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.; Sat. & Sun. Closed

Crandon Public Library: (4) Open with full hours. Curbside service continues. Limit of 10 people for 30 minutes per day. Masks and gloves encouraged. No group gatherings.

Dorchester Public Library: (4) Open with full hours. M (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.) for at-risk patrons. Regular public hours are M: 1 p.m.- 7 p.m.; T: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. ; W: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and F: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Access is limited to 9 patrons at a time, visits limited to 15 minutes.

Gilman, Western Taylor County: (4) Open – M: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., W: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., F: 12 a.m. – 6 p.m. Curbside service available for those who prefer no-contact. Face masks are welcome. Please limit browsing to 15-20 minutes. Only 2 computers available. Please limit time to 30 minutes.

Granton Community Library: (4)  Open.

Greenwood Public Library: (4) Open to the public and curbside service. M & T: 10 am – 7 pm; W: by appointment; R & F: 9 am – 6 pm. Masks required. Visits limited to library business, no gathering at this time. Space limited to 6 visitors inside.

Laona, Edith Evans: (4) Curbside service. Mondays from 5 – 7 p.m. and Wednesdays from 7 – 9 a.m.

Loyal Public Library: (4) Open. M: 10-5:30, W: 10-6  F: 10-5:30 only. Curbside service continues.  Limit of 10 people for 30 minutes per day.

Marathon County Public Library & branches: (4) Open on multi-phase reopening plan. Library locations open by appointment and with limited hours. At MCPL’s Wausau, patrons may call the reference desk to schedule an appointment for computer use. Cardholders may use a library computer for one hour per day, with limited computer stations available. Appointments must be made ahead of time and patrons will not be permitted to enter the building unless they have a set appointment. No in-person browsing of materials will be permitted at MCPL Wausau at this time. At the eight branches, patrons may call and schedule an appointment to use a computer or to browse materials, limited to one, 30-minute session per week.  Curbside pickup available by calling local MCPL location or by using the online catalog.

Medford, Frances L. Simek: (4)  Mon. – Thurs. 8:30 am – 8 pm, Fri. 8:30 am – 6 pm, Sat. 8:30am – 2:30 pm. Curbside pickup available during open hours. Call 715-748-2505. Conference rooms are not available.

Merrill, T.B. Scott Free Library: (4) Open to the public: Masks required.
Curbside available.
Hours

Monday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Tuesday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Wednesday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Thursday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Friday: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Sunday: Closed

Minocqua Public Library: (4) Open. M-R: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m; F:1- 6 p.m. Public computer use and printing/scanning/faxing/copy services will be available for 30 minute appointments.  Contact-less Drive-up service will continue and is encouraged. Book drops are open 24 hours. 

Neillsville Public Library: (4) Open, limited to 10 patrons at a time. Limit to 30 minutes per day/per person for browsing, reading  and check out. Children under age 14 must be accompanied by an adult/parent/guardian. Masks to be worn by patrons and staff.

Owen Public Library: (4) (Open (Express Library) M, W and F:12 p.m. – 6 p.m. Patrons can browse new DVDs, books, newspapers, magazines and audiobooks in the entryway. Librarian will pick up items for patrons from shelves).

Rhinelander District Library: (4) Open Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Curbside available by request with 24 hours in advance.

Rib Lake Public Library: (4) Open with new, temporary hours.  M: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., W: 12 p.m. – 8 p.m., F: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Curbside service still available for those who prefer no-contact. Face masks are welcome and encouraged.Please limit browsing to 15-20 minutes. Only 6 computers available. Please limit time to 1 hour.

Stetsonville, Jean M. Thomsen Memorial Library: (4)  Open. M & R: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; T & W: 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. Visits limited to 30 minutes maximum. Children under 12 must be accompanied by adult. Essential computer use only-if extended use is needed, please call for an appointment
Maximum of 8 people in library at a time-including staff. Curbside service and browsing by appointment remain available.

Thorp Public Library: (4) Open. Restricting the number of people in the building to 9 and having 30-minute visits only. Computer use is for non-leisure activities only, children under 16 should be accompanied by an adult. Mondays 10-12 p.m. are set aside for at-risk populations.

Three Lakes, E.U. Demmer Memorial: (4)  Open for in-person services for 30 minutes/person/day, T and R, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Wednesday, 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.   No need for appointments for computer use. Materials requested for checkout will be placed on a self-service shelf in the library lobby. In addition to the library hours, the lobby is open for materials pick-up M 10 AM – 7 PM and Wednesday 10 AM – 12 PM when the library opens. Study and meeting rooms available by appointment for 2 hours/day/group.

Tomahawk Public Library: (4)  Open M, T & TH: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 3 – 6 p.m.; W & F: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.  Masks required. Curbside services available.  Computer use limited to 30 minutes. Personal computers and study tables available for 30 minutes.  WiFi also available outside for all devices. Book drop open 24 hours.

Wabeno Public Library: (4) Open.

Westboro Public Library: (4) Open T & W: 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.; R: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Masks required. Family unit must call to make appointment to browse. Computer use limited to 10 minutes. Personal computers outside only.  WiFi available outside on the south-west corner of the building for all devices.

Withee Public Library: (4) Open every Saturday, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Patrons must set up an appointment either by phone or email. Maximum of 6 patrons will be allowed in the library at one time, with a time limit of 30 minutes each. Patrons will be given plastic gloves upon entering the building, and are encouraged to wear their masks if possible. Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult while in the building. Curbside service available 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. T & R and S from 10 a.m 1 p.m.

Staying Together Discussions

Next Meeting: TBD

 

Courier

WVLS will offer full service stops for libraries at Level 4 beginning the week of June 15. Libraries can now start requesting empty bins, at 5 bins per request. Contact for questions or other requests.

Current WVLS Courier Schedule (by day)
Current WVLS Courier Schedule (by library)
WVLS COVID-19 Courier Guidelines (Updated 3/3/21)

 

Reopening/Curbside Services Resources

“Positioning the Library for a Post-pandemic Sustainable Future: A Panel Discussion for Public Library Directors” 


When Your Library Reopens 

When your library chooses to reopen, please send an email to as soon as possible with the following information:

1)    Date your library plans to reopen
2)    Will an appointment be required to use the library?
3)    Will an appointment be required to pick up holds?
4)    Changes you would like made to your library’s print and email hold pickup notice text – for instance, return to the original hold pickup notice
5)    Any message you would like to appear on your library’s webpage (if managed by WVLS)

WVLS will process requests in the order they are received with attention to the date your library will reopen. You will receive an email confirmation when the changes are complete.

Reopening Plans/Documents/Communications
L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library  Return to Work   Response Plan   Cloth Face Covering
Antigo Reopening Press Release
Crandon Entry Signage
Dorchester
IFLS Blog: Can You Really Make Anybody Wear a Mask?
Jaffrey Public Library (NH) Pandemic Policy  Pandemic Interim Service Plan
Loyal
Neillsville

Curbside Service Webinar Recordings 

Library Curbside Service Procedures/Publicity
Appleton Public Library
Brown County Library
Granton Community Library
Western Taylor

Library Delivery of Items: Virus or Not
Rhinelander PSA on Staying Closed

Graphics & Templates

Mask Mandate
Rebecca from IFLS created some great mask posters and graciously agreed to share them with us. They’ll print sideways on 8 ½ x 11. (It’s the right thing to do.pdf) You can also save as a pdf, and you can use these for Facebook posts.  You can customize these as you would like (make a copy first), and we are encouraging libraries to use friendly language.

Please make a copy before you edit Canva documents. Then you can save the copy to your own folder.

  1. Go to the “file” menu dropdown in the upper left corner and select “Make a copy”.
  2. The copy will open in a new tab.
  3. Save that copy to your folder.

Here’s a link to a copy of the posters.
These are from Wyoming, but not state specific: https://library.wyo.gov/mask-up-posters-for-your-library/

 

Value and Evolution of Library Services
Use these social media templates to help communicate the value and evolution of library services.

  • Add your library logo, or ask Anne to make you a text logo.
  • Use pictures from your library for the background if possible.
  • Use your local statistics, start tracking services now if you aren’t already!
  • Download your final product as a PNG and share via Facebook etc.
  • BONUS: You can also send these images at the bottom of emails to your library board, city council, nearest newspaper, nearest radio, donors, partners… reminding them of your current services.

Anne can make them for you, too! Send your stats, pictures, and logos to Anne and she’ll create a ready-to-use set for you.

 
 
Facebook Share templates for encouraging library safety. Libraries should insert their logo before use.

V-Cat Notices, Holds, Circulation, Due Dates & Patron Cards

New Resource Sharing Documents
Libraries may choose to begin WVLS resource sharing level three on or after Tuesday, May 26th. V-Cat libraries are encouraged to have a conversation with the other libraries in their county about level 3 resource sharing. WVLS is available to facilitate conversations among libraries. Individual libraries are asked to notify WVLS at  when they are able to share resources within their county.


New Paging Documents


Curbside Pick-Up Documents


Former Documents

 

If your library should need to close for any reason, please contact WVLS at  and  with the following information:
1) Library location(s) to be closed.
2) Anticipated length of closure and/or date to re-open.
3) Contact person and email/phone number where they can be reached during the closure.

Here is a document that outlines the steps WVLS will take to manage holds, transits, due dates etc. once we are made aware of a library closing. If you have additional questions or concerns after reviewing the document, please let us know.

 

Professional Development Related to COVID-19

Nothing at this time. 

If Your Library Has Limited Services

Media, Policies, Procedures, Checklists:
Antigo Press Release on Services Offered: 3/19
Thorp Public Library “Stuck at Home” Webpage
Demmer Public Library Plan of Service: 3/18/20
Demmer Public Library: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PyZCJ2j7uCGoeTdxENjpCttGCkdb0uow6CDVUuYfojY/edit?usp=sharing
Sanitation Checklist: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mE-GINUAK4FWkyJgzvAZvxcw-SeelnWUakYBC0Vwk1Q/edit?usp=sharing
Pittsylvania Public County Library:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MWu67YX1k0d58eHxAkZIeXK4TZ2cnorJytrHNnoYEBA/edit?usp=sharing

 

 

Library Closure Procedures

If your library should need to close for any reason, please contact WVLS at  and  with the following information:
1) Library location(s) to be closed.
2) Anticipated length of closure and/or date to re-open.
3) Contact person and email/phone number where they can be reached during the closure.

Here is a document that outlines the steps WVLS will take to manage holds, transits, due dates etc. once we are made aware of a library closing. If you have additional questions or concerns after reviewing the document, please let us know.

You also might want to consider adding your closure to the Wisconsin state-wide list, as well as the National list.

 
 

Closure Information For Your Library:

Wisconsin Valley Library Service
300 N 1st Street
Wausau, WI 54403
715-261-7250