The Cedar Falls Public Library is committed to providing access to resources for lifelong learning. To that end, library staff are monitoring information about COVID-19 from the Center for Disease Control, the Iowa Department of Public Health, Black Hawk County Public Health, and other authoritative health organizations to consider how we can continue to provide access to resources while also protecting the health of our patrons and staff.
Currently, library staff are taking measures to help prevent the spread of illness by following the guidelines of health officials by following handwashing guidelines and disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces such as door handles, railings, keyboards, counters, etc. Toys that cannot be disinfected as frequently as conditions warrant, such as puppets, Lego, and trains, will be stored temporarily. At this time, our scheduled programs will be held as planned, but we will reassess as conditions change.
We strongly encourage individuals who are ill not to attend programs. Library staff are already exploring ways we can deliver programming remotely if conditions necessitate cancelling face-to-face programs in the future.
We also encourage patrons who are ill and those who are concerned about their risk of contracting COVID-19 to take advantage of our electronic resources: Overdrive, Hoopla, Freegal, and our databases provide 24-hour access to books, videos, music, and more from home using your library card number. Concerned patrons may also reduce their exposure to potential risk by placing holds on materials from home using their library cards, reducing their time in the building to retrieving their holds on the holds shelf and going through the self-checkout station.
As another preventive measure to assist concerned patrons, we have also extended the expiration date to June 30th on library cards that have recently expired or are due to expire soon.
Our reference staff have compiled a reference guide of links to reputable health information about COVID-19 that can be accessed here: >https://cedarfallslibrary.org/learn/coronavirus/.
We will continue to monitor the situation and will keep our community informed about any safety measures that will impact our programs and services.
