PCPL Unveils New Reopening Plan
PCPL Unveils Covid-19 Reopening Plan
by Library Admin
At the Putnam County Public Library, we believe that libraries are one of the most essential industries. We provide access to vital resources, such as government programs, resources and research for schoolwork, free internet and technology. We offer a place for the community to meet and discuss ideas, children to play, learn, and grow, and even as a place for someone to simply get warm. During the library’s closure, the library staff has worked tirelessly to continue to provide these essential services to the community outside of the library building.
On April 29, 2020, the PCPL Board of Trustees approved a phased plan to reopen the library. PCPL is a hub of connection, creativity, entertainment, and information in the Putnam County community. Throughout the library’s closure, the library has continued to provide essential services through remote reference by email, digital programming, digital materials (eBooks, eAudiobooks, eMagazines, streaming video, and talking picture books), digital library card sign-ups, free public Wi-Fi, and much more.
The library will continue to provide these digital services, but will begin the process of reopening the library beginning Monday, May 11. On Monday, May 11, library staff will be able to return to the library building on a limited basis, in order to asses whether library staff has appropriate PPE for working in the library and technology to work remotely. Additionally, library staff will use that time to process returns and mail, and put the finishing touches on procedures for offering curbside and remote services. Safeguarding the health of library staff and patrons is the primary goal in the library’s reopening policy.
Phase 1 of reopening the library will use the following guidelines in order to provide the best safety measures for staff and patrons:
It is our hope that we will be able to begin providing curbside services, as well as more access to free Wi-Fi and public computers in the coming weeks. Please check back on our Covid-19 Updates page for more information on when the library will begin providing these services.
We miss our patrons and we hope to see you soon. Stay safe and stay healthy, Putnam County.
Virtual Programs From DePauw, Greencastle City Council, and IU Auditorium
Virtual Programs From DePauw University, Greencastle City Councilpersons, IU Auditorium and Indiana Humanities
by Adult Services
Missing live musical performances? We are too, so we’ve put together a list of virtual programming/performances by some of the best local performers, venues, and more.
Check out these videos and programs from IU Auditorium, Greencastle City Council Member Veronica Pejril, DePauw University and more.
ERIC EDBERG
Eric Edberg: Eric Edberg, cello and May Phang, piano DePauw Faculty Select recital 8-29-18 music by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, F. Chopin, Vivian Adelberg Rudow and F. Mendelssohn.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/eric.
VERONICA PEJRIL
INDIANA HUMANITIES
THE SHOWS MUST GO ON!
IU AUDITORIUM DIGITAL EVENTS
IU SIDNEY AND LOIS ESKENAZI MUSEUM OF ART
Kanopy Watch Party: Midsommar
Kanopy Watch Party : Midsommar
Discussion
Thursday, April 16 @ 6:30-9 p.m.
Grab your library card, pop some popcorn, and get your phone out! The library is hosting a digital watch party on Facebook & the library’s website. Queue up Ari Aster’s Midsommar on the library’s FREE digital streaming app Kanopy and comment along as you watch the film.
This film is rated R. 148 mins.
Kanopy: pcpl.kanopy.com
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2668595913410292/
To participate in the discussion, comment below using your Facebook account for Facebook comments or use the Disqus comment box at the bottom of the page.
Children’s Books: What To Read While The Library Is Closed
Children's Books: What To Read While The Library Is Closed
by Youth Services
The library may be closed, but there is plenty to read and listen to digitally. Our Children’s staff has gathered some of their favorite, too-good-to-miss digital books.
TumbleBooks
A collection of animated, talking picture books, suited for elementary school children, TumbleBooks take existing picture books and add sound, engaging animation, music, and narration to create stories that come to life for children.
Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
From the award-winning author of Little Pea, Little Hoot, and Little Oink comes a clever take on the age-old optical illusion: is it a duck or a rabbit?
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
As the sun sets behind the big construction site, all the hardworking trucks get ready to say goodnight.
Mercy Watson To the Rescue by Kate Dicamillo.
To Mr. and Mrs. Watson, Mercy is not just a pig–she’s a porcine wonder. And to the portly and good-natured Mercy, the Watsons are an excellent source of buttered toast, not to mention that buttery-toasty feeling she gets when she snuggles into bed with them. This is not, however, so good for the Watsons’ bed. BOOM! CRACK! As the bed and its occupants slowly sink through the floor, Mercy escapes in a flash “to alert the fire department,” her owners assure themselves. But could Mercy possibly have another emergency in mind–like a sudden craving for their neighbors’ sugar cookies?
OverDrive/Libby
If you haven’t already, download Libby through your device’s App Store to access the library’s digital collection. Libby is super easy to use; it’s designed to get you reading as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
Start Now!: You Can Make a Difference by Chelsea Clinton. Audiobook
For the youngest activists among us, a book geared just for them: full of facts, stories and tips on how to change the world read by the author, Chelsea Clinton. How can I eat healthy? What can I do to save endangered animals? Why do I need to cover my mouth when I cough? With information on problems both large and small, Chelsea breaks down the concepts of health, hunger, climate change, endangered species, and bullying, so that listeners can understand the world around them, and how they can make a difference in their own lives, as well as in their communities and the world at large.
Blended by Sharon M. Draper. E-book
Eleven-year-old Isabella’s blended family is more divided than ever in this thoughtful story about divorce and racial identity from the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Out of My Mind, Sharon M. Draper.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. Audiobook
Minli spends her days working hard in the fields and her nights listening to her father spin fantastic tales about the Jade Dragon and the Old Man of the Moon. Minli’s mother, tired of their poor life, chides him for filling her head with nonsense. But Minli believes these enchanting stories and embarks on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man of the Moon and ask him how her family can change their fortune. Narrated by Janet Song.
Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls by Beth McMullen. Audiobook
A girl discovers her boarding school is actually an elite spy-training program, and she must learn the skills of the trade in order to find her mother in this action-packed middle grade debut! Narrated by Kelsey Navarro.
Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds. E-book
Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and brilliantly weaves them into one wickedly funny, piercingly poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life.
You need a library card to access TumbleBooks and OverDrive. If you’re having troubles accessing either with your card, contact [email protected].
If you do not have a library card (and even if you do!), check out some of our favorite books read by celebrities through Storyline Online. The books also include activity guides you can do at home together.
Snappsy The Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book) by Julie Falatko, read by David Harbour, of Stranger Things
The Hula-Hoopin Queen by Thelma Godin, read by Oprah Winfrey
Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen, read by Robert Guillaume
Library Coronavirus Updates
Library Coronavirus Updates
by Library Admin
*NEW*
12/30/2020
Library Patrons,
As many of you have learned by now, Putnam County has now moved to level “Red” on the state’s COVID dashboard. This is especially troubling considering that numbers are predicted to increase in the coming weeks due to a post holiday surge. In order to respond to this trend, we are going to make the following changes to our operations.
-All meeting rooms will be closed to outside groups, persons, or organizations.
-The number of public computers will be reduced to two with time limits strictly enforced. Use of these computers will be scheduled by appointment with walk-ins considered when times are available.
-We will be strictly limiting direct staff help to patrons in instances where six feet of social distance cannot be maintained.
As is the case each time we reduce our level of access or service, it is regrettable. I also expect the constant reevaluation to continue in the days and weeks ahead. I can only say that each of these changes is made with the goal of keeping our staff and our patrons as safe as possible while still providing service to our community.
Matt McClelland, Library Director
12/9/2020
6/30/2020
Putnam County Community,
Hopefully this will be my last COVID related update for some time. Our library will soon (by 7/4/2020) be shifting to Phase 3 of our reopening plan. I think all us will be excited to talk less about phases and stages and more about the services that we offer the community in coming weeks. However, that optimism does not mean that we can afford to completely let our guard down. As we have seen in other states, the threat of COVID is only controlled by our response to it. Thus far Indiana has done an admirable job in flattening the curve of the pandemic, but in order to maintain that progress we must remain vigilant. While the library will soon more closely resemble what we are all used to, certain protocols will need to remain in place for the foreseeable future. Protocols that may impact the public are the following:
-We will still be strongly recommending that you join every staff member and wear a mask or face shield in the public areas. Staff members have also been instructed to maintain proper social distancing from our patrons. Study after study shows that these are the most effective things each of us can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
–Curbside and remote services will still be offered for those who prefer it. I encourage you to do so.
-We will still be quarantining items and requiring you to place returns in the book drops instead of giving them to staff. The quarantine period on most items will be 72 hours while magazines and newspapers will be 24 hours. This represents the best practices from the research we have seen.
-The Kiwanis meeting room will be limited to smaller groups. All other confined meeting spaces (i.e. Rotary room and study rooms) will remain closed or be used to quarantine items.
-Certain areas of the library may have capacity restrictions or limited access.
-Indoor programs will be limited in size.
-The library will close for a period of at least 72 hours in the event of a positive COVID-19 test. This would be to prevent further spread in both patrons and staff (many of whom are in at-risk categories). Until research proves otherwise, we will rely on the passage of time as the most reliable way to sanitize items and the building.
While all of us would like to put the COVID outbreak behind us, we are not quite there yet. Until we are, I ask that each of you do your part and help us do our part in meeting these challenging times. Judging by the patience you have shown through all of this, I have no doubt you will.
Matt McClelland, Library Director
______________________
5/4/2020
Putnam County Community,
By now many of you have seen or are familiar with the
details of the Governor’s plan to get Indiana back on track. While this does
not mean that things are going to be back to normal any time soon, it does mean
that myself, the library board, and our great staff are excited to increase the
services that the library can offer. At our last meeting, the board voted to
implement a phased plan of library services once changes to the stay at home
order were announced by the Governor.
Pending any change in circumstances on the ground, the
library staff will be permitted back in the building on Monday, May 11th.
During that week we will be making sure the staff has adequate PPE, technology
to work remotely if they can, processing returns and mail, and putting the
finishing touches on a plan to offer curbside and remote services.
My hope is that we can offer contact-free curbside pickup on
a limited number of books and DVDs, emergency computer use for essential
business, and remote/phone access to the other library departments by Monday,
May 18th.