Dear Placentia Library District Patrons,

We are happy to inform you all 22 staff who had been exposed to COVID-19 have been tested, and the results were all negative! We believe the safety measures we implemented – face mask, gloves, social distancing, availability of hand sanitizers, quarantine of returned items, along with the additional cleaning and sanitizing – contributed to the outcome. Our team will return to the building as early as today to prepare for the reopening on Monday, September 21st. We thank you for your good wishes during this time. They mean a lot to our team!

We look forward to seeing you on Monday, and please remember face masks and social distancing are required. If you have a medical condition, or are uncomfortable wearing a face mask, we would suggest taking advantage of our curbside service, virtual programming, and access to our digital collection. For the safety of our staff, volunteers, and patrons, there will be no exceptions made for face masks and social distancing. Children two and under are not required to wear a face mask. We ask for your cooperation.

Please note all returned items will be quarantined for seven days. These items will be available for checkout on the 8th or 9th day after quarantine. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, OCLC, and Battelle have been conducting research on how long the SARS-CoV-2 virus survives on library materials. The project known as the Reopening Archives, Libraries & Museums Project (REALM) conducted tests on different materials including talking books, USB cassettes, DVDs, braille paper pages, glossy paper pages, magazine pages, children’s board books, archival folders, storage bags, storage containers, plexiglass, polyolefin (upholstery), polyvinyl chloride “vinyl” (upholstery), 100% cotton (upholstery, draperies, toys), nylon webbing (stanchion belts, bags, ropes), leather bookbinding, hardback book covers, softcover book covers, plastic protective covers, DVD cases, and expanded polyethylene foam.

SARS-CoV-2 was undetected on most items after a five-day period; however, tests have indicated a longer quarantine time may be required for paper materials sitting in a stacked configuration to render the virus undetectable. We have taken the extra precautionary step of implementing a seven-day quarantine period for all items returned. Furthermore, we have an onsite cleaning crew during all open hours to ensure frequent cleaning and sanitizing of surfaces.

We also wanted to update you on the availability of laptops and hotspots. Due to the demand from school districts across the state, our order has been placed on backorder until January 2021. While we had hoped to make these items available, we aren’t able to offer them at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Respectfully,

Jeanette Contreras