Reopening NH Libraries Task Force Report

This is the weekly update from the Reopening NH Libraries Task Force, which will continue to be distributed on Thursdays until further notice.  The Task Force met earlier this week, and agreed to provide new or updated information through this weekly email, with the intent to revise the Best Practices document if significant new links/resources/information need to be added. Here are the important pieces of information to note this week:

• Press release sample from Portsmouth Public Library regarding curbside: https://www.cityofportsmouth.com/library/curbside
• Article from the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Simulated Sunlight Rapidly Inactivates SARS-CoV-2 on Surfaces (5/20/2020): https://academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiaa274/5841129  This article is most useful when thinking about outdoor surfaces such as benches, picnic tables, etc. The Task Force still believes that the information forthcoming from the IMLS/OCLC/Battelle partnership will inform our library material handling practices the best. Please bookmark https://www.webjunction.org/explore-topics/COVID-19-research-project.html for the latest updates about this partnership and the findings of their scientific research.

As always, please reach out to me if there are any issues you wish to communicate to the Task Force. We are in regular communication as a group and welcome feedback.

{This is a reprint of the report issued by Lori Fisher to the NHAIS-L listserv}