A Note from RCL's Director

Dear Patrons,

At the May 22 regular board meeting, the Richland Community Library Board of Trustees approved the library's Infectious Disease Phased Re-Opening Plan.

Richland Community Library will offer a  phased approach to offering services when there is an active pandemic of infectious disease. The Library’s movement through the phases of this plan is contingent upon the Governor’s Executive Orders, which will provide clarification as to when, and in what order, services may be made available. In addition, the Library will closely follow reopening guidelines, recommendations, and strategies from the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department.

Phase 1: The only staff members working in the library building are those required to perform essential tasks; all other staff will work remotely to provide virtual customer services and programs. (April 1 - June 9)

Phase 2: All staff members will return to work in staggered shifts to prepare the building and materials for contactless public services. Virtual customer services and programming will continue. (June 10 - 12)

Phase 3: Contactless material delivery services (curbside) will be implemented with limited days and times. Virtual customer services and programming will continue.
(June 16 - September 5)

Phase 4: Library building access is restored to the public observing social distancing and safety protocols. Gatherings may be reduced and there may be reduced access to services and resources. Virtual customer services and programming will continue. (September 8 - Present)

Phase 5: Library will return to full service; special arrangements may still apply.

Due to the Governor's Executive Orders to extend the Stay at Home restrictions to June 8, we will begin curbside services with reduced hours beginning sometime during the week of June 16. Although plans for curbside are in place, we have not been able to come together as a staff for three months; we ask for your patience while we prepare to accept phone calls, monitor online hold requests, and retrieve and process materials for individual pickup.

Many of you may have experienced some form of curbside service during this pandemic; what we will offer will require some protocols which we will share prior to June 16. Our goal is to offer patrons a pleasant curbside service. We are excited to announce we have expanded our digital services in light of limited access to physical materials. RBdigital audiobooks and magazines are now free and unlimited to all our patrons. RBdigital offers over 40,000 audiobooks and 3,200 magazines. We feel confident you will enjoy these digital materials.
(Click here for a video tutorial on how to get started with RBDigital)

If you do not follow the library on Facebook or Instagram, you will find updates on our website and via emails.

Karen McConnell, 
Richland Community Library Director

Cleaning & Sanitizing Materials

RCL has gotten the jump on cleaning and sanitizing our materials as they are being returned.

Currently, all materials being returned to the library are to be dropped in our external drop box (located in the rear parking lot). This allows staff to pull these items once a day, quarantine them for 72 hours, disinfect them, check them back in, and, finally, shelve them.

We ask that patrons continue returning materials to our drop box, even once curbside pickup has begun.

Richland Community Library is closely following the CDC Reopening Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting Public Spaces, Workplaces, Businesses,
Schools, and Homes, as well as Kalamazoo County HCS Public Health Guidance to Reopen Workforce and the OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19.

As we move closer to opening our doors for patrons to enter our facility, we will be posting our procedures and guidelines in more detail. Check our website, Facebook, and Instagram for updates.

Updated June 3, 2020.