CCPL Takes Precautions Against Spread of Coronavirus

The following is a message from the Charleston Public Library:

As the world faces a challenging public health situation with the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) is taking precautionary steps with the library’s patrons and staff’s safety in mind.

Effective on Friday, March 13, all public bookmobile and outreach services will be suspended to possibly resume on Saturday, March 28. CCPL will also be suspending all public programs as well as events and gatherings held in booked rooms, effective Monday, March 16 to possibly resume on Saturday, March 28.

Any room booking at a CCPL facility has been canceled and subject to possibly resume on Saturday, March 28. CCPL leaders will evaluate the suspension over the next few weeks to decide whether to extend it or return to normal operating procedures.

“We did not come to this decision lightly. The Library’s programs and outreach services are important resources for the Charleston County community. However, I must put the safety of our staff and patrons first,” said CCPL Executive Director Angela Craig. “We recognize how the interruption of services affects public access, but we believe these measures are minimizing risk and hope to resume normal services as soon as possible.”

Furthermore, CCPL is taking extra steps within its facilities to heighten patron and staff safety. In order to institute adequate social distancing at our facilities, every adjacent computer station will be deactivated. Some seating will also be removed from study areas to provide adequate social distancing for patrons.

In addition to regular scheduled cleaning of our facilities, CCPL will be disinfecting computers, public electronic equipment and supplies periodically. Children’s toys will be removed temporarily during this modified service period.

The Library is making efforts to mitigate any access barriers by doing the following:

• • The Library will be purchasing more e-books and audio books in order to decrease the amount of time patrons are on hold waiting for the material to become available online. The Library offers e-materials including books, audiobooks, music, TV shows and movies through four vendors:
    • Overdrive/Libby
    • Hoopla
    • rbDigital
    • Freegl
  • Promoting virtual library-reference services such as Ask-A-Question, where the public can chat, text or email with library staff.
  • Promoting virtual programs online via social media and website.

For updates, please visit www.ccpl.org.

In addition to the information above, the showing of MET Opera Live, scheduled for this Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m. at the Main Library, has been canceled.

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