Hey, everyone, we’re interrupting regular blog programming to update you on some changes at the Berryville Public Library for the foreseeable future in response to the coronavirus threat.
PRESS RELEASE
March 16, 2020
In an effort to keep library staff and patrons as healthy as possible and assist in fighting the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), all library buildings in the Carroll and Madison Library System (Berryville, Eureka Springs, Green Forest, Huntsville, Kingston, St. Paul) will be closed to the public until further notice.
All libraries will provide curbside service and reference services via Facebook messenger, email, and phone during normal operating hours. Wi-Fi is accessible outside library buildings.
To place a request for curbside delivery please call, email, or leave a message via Facebook messenger with the titles you would like to check out and a day/time you will be by to pick them up. Please stay in your vehicle. A staff member will check out your items and deliver them to you in your car. All materials coming back into the library will be disinfected.
Library2Go via our websites is always available for downloading eBooks and audiobooks. If you have questions about how to get an account set up on your device, please just call your local library.
If you have materials to return to libraries, please use outside bookdrops. If you would like to renew items please call, email or message your library via Facebook.
This is an ever-changing situation and we appreciate your patronage and patience.
Berryville Public Library 870-423-2323
Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library 479-253-8754
Green Forest Public Library 870-438-6700
Madison County Library (Huntsville) 479-738-2754
Kingston Community Library 479-665-2745
St. Paul Public Library 479-677-2907
Johnice Dominick, MLIS
Regional Library Administrator
Carroll and Madison Library System
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We take our role as a community hub for Berryville, Carroll County, and surrounding areas very seriously. We love our patrons, and we know you love us too! That’s why we don’t make this decision to shut down the building lightly. We want to keep you, our staff, and our community safe while also continuing to provide as many services as we can, and we will do so as long as it is deemed safe.
One of our biggest concerns is that even during the best of times, there can be a lot of germs in the library. As anyone who has ever worked in a library will tell you, it is often one of the last stops people make (to stock up on books and movies) when they’re sick before they head home–and with this virus, that is complicated by the fact people can be asymptomatic and contagious, so people who aren’t visibly sick but are contagious could be here, unaware they are infecting others. On top of that, many of our patrons are in high-risk categories, including the elderly and immunocompromised. And of course, even for those who are not high-risk, they and our staff often still have family, friends, and acquaintances in those categories.
Those factors are obviously all a problem during a pandemic situation, especially in one where the exponential curve of new cases is a worrying concern. It’s also why we are doing our part to flatten the curve.
This article from the Washington Post does a great job of demonstrating why measures like closing public buildings and practicing social distancing can make a huge difference in the rate this disease spreads:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/?utm_source=pocket-newtab
Thanks so much to all of you for your patronage! We appreciate you and your patience as we figure out how to work through this unique situation. Please stay safe!
Berryville Book Buzz 