672 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

the other library system acted much sooner:

 

 

 

The Greater Victoria Public Library says it will lay off 168 regular and auxiliary employees next month if it has not resumed some services by then.

 

This follows the Vancouver Island Regional Library system laying off 420 employees in mid-March.

Both systems shut their doors on March 16 due to COVID-19 concerns.

 

Maureen Sawa, GVPL chief executive, hopes the system will be starting to reopen by the time layoff notices come into effect.

 

She can’t say when library users will be able to physically borrow a book again, but there are lots of details to consider: How will visitor flow in branches be managed? Who will physically take books from shelves? Should there will be a set period of time before a returned book can be loaned again? What will be required in terms of personal protective equipment?

 

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...rary-1.24129836

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 May 2020 - 07:24 PM.

[Matt R.]

government can't get it.

They fit the definition of government?

Matt.

[Victoria Watcher]

I suppose they do. 100% funded by various levels of government. not a contractor.

[Jackerbie]

Will they at least get the wage subsidy?

Matt.

 

No wage subsidy (CEWS) for the library but laid-off employees may be eligible for the emergency benefit (CERB). The wage subsidy is for taxable corporations (and certain tax-exempt organizations). I don't know how the GVPL is organized, but for instance the Richmond Public Library staff are employed by the City of Richmond.

Edited by Jackerbie, 06 May 2020 - 08:20 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

libraries are planing a painfully slow re-opening.  no date set yet though.

 

 

https://www.vicnews....es-will-reopen/

[Cats4Hire]

I get having limited branches but just Central is dumb. Maybe Emily Carr or Bruce Huchison for Saancih and Peninsula and one of the 3 in the westshore. If I want to pick stuff up from the library that means I'm going to need to take the bus now which I thought we were supposed to be avoiding. 

[Nparker]

Agreed. Central EC/BH and JDF would make the most sense to open first.

[Victoria Watcher]

surely it’s not very hard at all to have reserved books scanned by staff then handed safely to a customer pick up table. seems they are being much too cautious.

[mbjj]

My daughter and I were discussing this the other day. As I worked at the library for quite a long time and she has a Masters in Library Science (doesn't work there though) we made up our own very long list of what should and shouldn't be done. There were so many things to consider, our list was very long. I think some of the problem is huge demand and not many staff. Also lack of space for returned items, etc. Just setting aside returned items, well they will be in the thousands and need a lot of space for quarantine. Browsing for items will be a problem as there's an awful lot of touching then putting back. Staff work in pretty close quarters too. The workroom will definitely have to change.

 

Hope my friend gets some hours, she can't wait to get back to work.

[Midnightly]

downtown location does have a fair amount of space especially if they shift things around in their entryway,  more then most libraries, and i am fairly sure it is the biggest collection (after all it is the "central" library) many of the smaller libraries deal more in holds and pick ups vrs browsing and volume... i do think it is a good place to start, see how well it works the whole process (they will still need to order books from other locations and send books back to other locations) before considering opening up more in the network. Now is it convenient for many? not really.. but they do need to start somewhere.. and somewhere that can offer them the space to process the orders

[mbjj]

If you want to help library employees, put lots of things on hold. Many had their hours cut before the pandemic (unrelated to the virus), so if they have lots of holds to fill they will have to give them hours. After all, someone's got to go and retrieve all that stuff then process it!

[Victoria Watcher]

finally someone says what we've been saying here for weeks.

 

https://www.timescol...rary-1.24145701

 

 

 

Library’s painfully slow reopening plans

 

Re: “Downtown Victoria library gearing up to reopen for pickups,” May 29.

The Greater Victoria Public Library is planning to take several more weeks to do what our bookstores have been doing safely throughout our pandemic — providing service at the door for pre-ordered material.

Why is it taking so long to provide this service? They already have an efficient “hold” system for material. Returned books do not need cleaning — they can just be left for 48 hours and the virus dies.

Some of the branches have exterior entrances so patrons would not even enter the building to pick up materials. Patrons could show their library cards and an ID without having to use the checkout computer.

Their announced plan to have all of the region converge in the enclosed space of the downtown location’s courtyard over a condensed four-hour period would invite crowding or impossible waits.

Surely our librarians can come up with a plan for handing out material safely in a day of creative thinking and open next week.

Ivan Carlson
Victoria

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 June 2020 - 05:21 AM.

[mbjj]

I don't think you can compare the library system to a book store. Do any book stores in Victoria have 100 000 patrons who will likely inundate the system as soon as they are able.? Also opening procedures have to be approved by Worksafe B.C. and the union. Many staff may not feel comfortable working in close quarters with each other, and the public.

 

I was reading a procedural guide put out by a library system in the US on their Covid plans. It was very long, very detailed, and quite complex.

[Victoria Watcher]

of course they don’t feel comfortable. it’s very comfortable to sit at home doing no work and getting full salary as the alternative.

but grocery workers have not been able to. first responders have not been able to. bc hydro workers have not been able to. bus drivers. Bc ferries. cab drivers and plumbers and veterinarians.

come on library workers you have to step up.

surely the reservation system can be curtailed or throttled somehow.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 June 2020 - 06:00 PM.

[Spy Black]

If I'm not willing to line up to get into Best Buy, the land of all sorts of goodies and fabulous things - then I'm definitely not going to line up to get a book from the Central Llbrary.

I'll order it new off Amazon thanks, delivered in a couple of days to my front door.

 

With no cases of the virus in the CRD for over two months, just make everybody who enters th building wear a mask, and let them have at it.

I've never, EVER been in the Central Library when it was even close to what you might call "crowded" - and I've been visiting since it was all in the Carnegie Building and one Bookmobile.

[Cats4Hire]

I don't think you can compare the library system to a book store. Do any book stores in Victoria have 100 000 patrons who will likely inundate the system as soon as they are able.? Also opening procedures have to be approved by Worksafe B.C. and the union. Many staff may not feel comfortable working in close quarters with each other, and the public.

 

I was reading a procedural guide put out by a library system in the US on their Covid plans. It was very long, very detailed, and quite complex.

I don't think anyone is expecting the entire system to just open up right away business as usual. Just more pick up locations instead of forcing everyone to go to one branch during a small window of time. I think Emily Carr would actually work great as a pick up location. Have a table right inside the door with a librarian and computer and all the current holds in the "returns" room or right beside the elevator and another librarian upstairs. Card reader pointed towards guest and they scan their own card, librarian gets the items (either themself from the room or by calling the other) they scan, put them on the table, patron picks up materials and leaves. Juan De Fuca or the one by Westhills (forget the name) also have similar entrances and could work in a similar way. That way you can spread people out as well.

[mbjj]

of course they don’t feel comfortable. it’s very comfortable to sit at home doing no work and getting full salary as the alternative.

but grocery workers have not been able to. first responders have not been able to. bc hydro workers have not been able to. bus drivers. Bc ferries. cab drivers and plumbers and veterinarians.

come on library workers you have to step up.

surely the reservation system can be curtailed or throttled somehow.

If you think the majority of library workers are getting full salary, you are sadly mistaken. Most have applied for CERB and are getting nothing from the library. Most hate being at home. The reason people work at a library is because they love libraries, they love books, they love magazines etc. My former coworkers are bored to tears not being at work. They love the place. There's also a social aspect. Our coworkers are our friends, people hang out together. One of my former coworkers nursed another coworker through her last days battling cancer. People who work in the children's department love the children. Some who used to come to storytime as a four year old now are bringing in their own children. Kids bring in their new baby siblings to show them to people who work in the children's area. There is far more to working in a library than it just being any old job. Library workers themselves want access to books again. If you want to be angry with someone, please don't criticize your average library worker. They just want to be there doing their job.

 

As for feeling comfortable, you don't know all their stories. Perhaps they have elderly relatives they're looking after. I know one lady working at the library who has a disabled child. Of course they have had to think of their contacts during this time.

 

Believe me, I want nothing more than for the library to be open again. And yes, sometimes it can be crowded, believe it or not. I've seen it many times in the more than twenty years I worked there.

 

If you want to buy a book, why would you order it on Amazon? I've bought books at Munroes and Russel Books over the past couple of months. It was no big deal and very easy to obtain.

[mbjj]

Actually, if you want to complain to someone, try the GVPL Board.....

Greater Victoria Public Library Board

The Greater Victoria Public Library Board serves 10 municipalities in the Greater Victoria Area.

Purpose

The Greater Victoria Public Library Board (GVPL Board) provides joint management, maintenance, improvement, operation and control of library branches. The Library has 12 locations in the Greater Victoria Area including a Central Library in the heart of downtown Victoria and the sxʷeŋxʷəŋ təŋəxʷ James Bay Branch.

 

Send a complaint to Loveday, lol.

 

https://www.gvpl.ca/library-board/

[Victoria Watcher]

Central and Langford Heritage branches open with reduced hours

 

 

https://www.gvpl.ca/...branches-hours/

 

 

i think the library system has shown very poor leadership in the response to the virus.  they are the holders of information for much of the public.  and instead of keeping that access open as wide as possible they have hidden themselves away in the bunker.

 

most other government services have not been interrupted.  in the private sector stores have been open for weeks - or never closed - and restaurants have been open for some time now.  yet here we are with libraries still barely open.  indeed most are still closed.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 29 June 2020 - 04:22 AM.

[Rob Randall]

Indeed, Russell Books very quickly improvised a no-contact pickup procedure very early in the pandemic, even though they were still gearing up from a significant relocation effort earlier in the year. 

 

The main difference being the library also takes in returned books and I think the worries over contamination, being flooded with requests and being understaffed combined to frighten them into keeping the doors locked. 

 

Plus, there was no financial incentive to make the risk attractive. For Russell's, Munro's, Dutch Bakery and countless others it was re-open or die.