News | Nottawa Township Library — Nottawa Township Library

Current Phase 06/22/2021: Regular Open Hours. Covid restrictions rescinded.

For Information on public library openings and closings in our cooperative click here.

The library WiFi will remain available in the parking lot and pavilion. Staff will continue to hold and process items that you can collect in the entryway at a designated time. All of your digital collections will remain available. Items can be returned to our dropbox. Please call 467-6289 with requests and questions during staffed hours.

As required by the State of Michigan and under the guidance of the Library of Michigan, Michigan Library Association, and American Library Association the plan for Nottawa Township Library:

The dropbox on the side of the building is available for your use for all returns. Do not put library materials in the Little Free Library, as that is for donations only. Staff will accept kits that are too large for the dropbox on the table in the entryway.

Previous Stages:

Obtain required personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies (June 5). Staff training for reopening (06/03/2020).
Approve through the Library Board the Reopening Policy and COVID19 Preparedness Policy on Workplace Safety (06/10/2020).
Open the library to staff as soon as allowable (06/08/2020). Library staff will adhere to social distancing, cleaning, and quarantine guidelines. Staff will need time to catch up from the long closure before offering library services to the public.
Curbside service utilizing the online library Catalog and for Summer Reading, Google Forms, with coordinated scheduled pick-up times (06/15/2020, Resumed 11/2/2020 through 11/14/2020).
Twenty-minute scheduled browsing appointments (July 6, resumed 11/16/2020, paused 11/19/20, continued 11/30/20, paused 12/23/20, resumed 1/11/21, through 03/05/2021). Curbside still available. No public meetings, staff meetings, storytimes. Library patrons will be expected to adhere to MI regulations. When scheduling, library staff will request your group size as the library currently has capacity limits. Library staff will be wearing masks. Library materials are quarantined for one week before they are processed. The frequently touched surfaces are being cleaned with Covid approved cleaners after each appointment slot.
Open With Conditions (08/24/2020 - Paused 11/02/2020, Resumes 03/05/2021). The library will be open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 am to noon and 1 pm to 4:30 pm, Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am to noon and 1 pm to 5:30 pm, Saturday from 10 am to 12:30 pm. Conditions include Masks in accordance with the current order, 20 minutes of browsing, and computer time. With reservation and capacity limits Children’s Classroom (4), Tutor Room (4) Meeting Room (8), and fireplace area (10) area available. Extended computer use available with reservation. Interlibrary loan available. All returns must be placed in the outside drop box attached to the building. Curbside service still available.
Normal Hours Resume (06/01/2021) Conditions include: Masks in accordance with current order, 1 hour computer time. With reservation and capacity limits Children’s Classroom (4), Tutor Room (4) Meeting Room (8), fireplace area (10), and Pavilion area (100) available. Extended computer use available with reservation. Interlibrary loan available. All returns must be placed in the outside drop box attached to the building. Curbside service still available.

Executive Orders as Pertaining to Library Service:

The Michigan Library Association announced on Saturday, March 14 the recommendation to close all Michigan public libraries in response to the COVID - 19 pandemic. Governor Whitmer established Executive Order 2020-9 Monday, March 16 closing Michigan public libraries. Sunday, March 22 Governor Whitmer established Executive Order 2020-20 closing libraries through April 13. On Thursday, April 9 the Executive Order 2020-42 lengthened the stay at home order until April 30. Friday, April 24, Governor Whitmer lengthened the stay at home order, specifically section 6 applying to governmental units, until May 15 with Executive Order 2020-59. Thursday, April 30 Executive Order 2020-69 was issued applying specifically to libraries; this order extended library closure through May 28. The order issued Thursday, May 7, Executive Order 2020-70 extended the Safer At Home order to keep library staff working from home through May 28. On Friday, May 22 at 5:00 pm the Governor issued Executive Order 2020-100 keeping places of public accommodation, including libraries closed through June 12. Michigan entered Safe Start Stage Four with EO 2020-110. In region 3, the library staff was not allowed to work in the library building other than essential tasks from March 16 to June 8. Executive Order 2020-110 allowed libraries to begin their reopening plans. The first step in Nottawa Township Library’s plan was for staff to work in the physical building. The Library Board met June 10 as required by EO 2020-97 to pass policies required for library staff to resume offering library service from the building. On July 10 EO 2020-147 was issued, EO 2020-153 supersedes 147 and clarifies dealing with customers medically unable to tolerate a mask. Beginning Monday, July 13, the order will affect the library and library staff. A direct quote from the order, “any business that is open to the public to refuse entry or service to people who refuse to wear a face covering.” Executive Order 2020-154 extends the right of a public body to meet remotely until the end of the pandemic emergency. Executive Order 2020-145 supersedes 97 and stipulates what the employer’s responsibility is to employees in the workplace. On July 29, Executive Orders 2020-160 (recession of 110) and 2020-161 (recession of 145) were released. Section 1t of 161 requires remote work to the fullest extent possible and requires establishments to, “limit staffing to the minimum number necessary to operate”. Based on the intent of the modifications, the library will continue reduced staffing. Executive Order 2020-166 (amended 36) requires employers regardless of the number of employees to provide leave to employees who miss work due to Covid-19 symptoms or required quarantine. On October 2 the Supreme Court of MI issued a decision concluding EOs issued by the Governor of Michigan after April 30, 2020, were not valid. On October 5, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued an epidemic order which will largely resemble the orders previously in place. These orders will require library staff to enforce mask-wearing and social distancing procedures as a unit of government. Library staff will be required to ask those not wearing a face covering if they are exempt under current standards (section 2 item b). Library staff is personally subject to the consequences set in this order as governmental employees (section 6 items e and g). October 9 the new order from MDHHS was issued. Based on the Health Department’s recommendation to Centreville Public Schools and the School Board meeting Monday, November 2, the library went back to Curbside Service Monday 11/2/2020 through Saturday 11/14/2020. Superintendent Stephanie Lemmer asked the community to “buckle down and follow social distancing practices”. Lemmer also replied to a question from a parent concerning the spread, stating that at this time the school cannot source the outbreak. She offered the school’s website as a source for current information on quarantined, positive, and presumptive cases in the district. The website is updated every 24 hours Monday through Friday. On November 15 a new order from MDHHS was issued. This order put the library back to a 20-minute scheduled appointment service with no public meetings, staff meetings, or storytimes allowed. On January 22 a new MDHHS order was created to go into effect on February 1. This order will allow gatherings of two households in public places with no public meetings, staff meetings, or storytimes are allowed. March 5, the new Gatherings and Face Mask Order goes into effect. Reservations of the Tutor Room and Children’s Classroom are allowed. In-person meetings may resume with a limit of 25 people, six feet apart sitting and standing, with face coverings. Capacity for the Tutor Room and Children’s Classroom remain at four people. The open area by the fireplace can accommodate up to ten people with a reservation. The May 6-31 order increases capacity limits. The guidelines for mask-wearing for fully vaccinated individuals have been updated and the new order is effective 5/15/2021 at 9:00 am. MI orders rescinded on June 22, 2021, allowing the library to return to normal operations.