By Pauline Afuso, LISP-SIS Chair
The Ramsey County Law Library in St. Paul, Minnesota has been open to the public since June 15, 2020.
I read Geraldine Cepeda’s report on reopening, and I almost want to repeat part of her experience word for word – we closed in mid-March, and the Courts closed, too, except for essential hearings. We continued to provide help via phone and email, then the physical space reopened in June. However, unlike Guam and many other libraries, we didn’t develop a reopening plan in phases, rather, we constructed one plan to keep staff, patrons, materials, and the physical space clean, safe, and open. Once we had this plan , we put everything in place, and then waited for the Courts to reopen. Here is our story.
Staff and patron safety
Staff safety is very important because our numbers are small – there are just three of us. Each of us has our own space, so we can social distance safely and still work. We all wear masks because the Governor issued an executive order mandating everyone to wear a mask inside public buildings (similarly, the Chief Judge also issued a court order for masks to be worn in courtrooms). In addition, the library purchased plexiglass barriers for the service counters, as well as gloves and extra cleaning supplies. Our Director also consulted with the County, and we have protocols in place on what to do if a staff member is sick or if a staff member tests positive for the virus. So far, all three of us are virus free.
To ensure a clean library, each staff member is responsible for regularly wiping down public areas, particularly the computers and printers, tables, door handles, the copier and public phone, staplers, pens, and also the bottles of hand sanitizer we have throughout the library. The county shut down public drinking fountains, and we have just one unisex restroom for the public. Given the size of our library, we allow seven patrons in the library at a time. (We used to have tourists visit the library to see the view from the 18th floor as well as the beautiful art deco architecture, furniture and light fixtures in the library, but these tours have been suspended for now.) The library is only open to those needing to do legal research or have business with the courts. All visitors need to check in at the front desk, and like staff, all patrons must wear a mask. Right now, our numbers are fairly low, so we are not limiting access by requiring appointments.
Library materials and services
Since we opened our doors in June, patrons have been dropping off library books that were checked out last February(!). To make sure they are safe, library staff are quarantining the books for a few days before reshelving them. We are doing the same with books that get dropped off in our book return on the ground level, as well as books used by researchers in the library.
One casualty of the pandemic is the class we used to teach at the county adult correctional facility. We had just started a legal information program for soon-to-be-released inmates this past January. It gave us a chance to put a human face on the law library services and to encourage them to ask questions. It is too bad that the program has been stopped; I think it will be a long time before we are allowed back in the facility.
In contrast, our legal advice clinics are still viable, though not as busy compared to before the peacetime emergency. For safety reasons, we have converted the clinics to phone consultations only. Our volunteer lawyers are eager to meet with clients and talk to them over the phone (though one attorney said he missed the human interaction of meeting clients in person). We anticipate that the clinics will continue to be phone consultations well into the fall, if not for the rest of the year.
We are also partnering with the Court to provide space and technology to help self-represented litigants (SRLs) with remote court appearances. Using a library purchased IPad and wifi, SRLs can attend their hearing in our conference room.
Still unresolved: patrons who can’t wear a mask
The state and county both have mandates that everyone must wear a mask if they are inside a public building. For users who can’t wear a mask for health reasons, we will help these patrons by providing curbside pickup for books, emailing/mailing forms at no charge, making photocopies while the patrons wait outside of library. This memo from the Southeast ADA Center and Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University gives examples of ways libraries can make reasonable accommodations for patrons who cannot wear a mask.
At this time, we haven’t yet had a patron who needs to use the library resources in the library (e.g., access to computers for filling out forms or for Westlaw research) but who cannot wear a mask because of health reasons. We are currently working on a plan to provide a socially distanced workstation to allow unmasked users access to a computer and printer.
So far, reopening to the public has gone smoothly. The factors that have contributed to a quiet reopening are the light, in-person court schedule, the ability to have phone consultations for our clinic, and the general cooperation of our patrons. I hope that your library reopening goes well. Remember to wash your hands and to wear a mask.
About the author: Pauline Afuso is a Law Library Senior Associate at the Ramsey County Law Library.
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