COVID-19 Pandemic Information
The health and well-being of the global SLA community are of foremost concern as the COVID-19 virus continues to infect more people. The SLA Board of Directors is monitoring reports from trustworthy sources such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) and encourages SLA members and leaders of SLA communities to do likewise.
The CDC announced in May 2021 that “fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.” SLA communities considering hosting in-person events should follow these guidelines, and all members are asked to exercise caution and take appropriate steps to protect themselves and their fellow information professionals at SLA activities.
2021 Annual Conference
The SLA 2021 Annual Conference, “Destination Everywhere,” will be held virtually August 3-13. Live, interactive content will be presented August 11-13; pre-recorded content will be presented August 3-10. The Honors and Awards Ceremony will be presented August 3. All conference content will be available for viewing by attendees from August 14-31.
Reopening Libraries Safely
In May 2020, the SLA Board of Directors established a Task Force on Reopening Specialized Libraries and charged it with creating a list of resources and best practices to guide specialized libraries in reopening safely during and after the COVID-19 virus pandemic. The task force has taken the following actions to help inform SLA members navigate the reopening process:
- presented a virtual roundtable, What Will Reopening Look Like? Planning, Procedures, and Solutions for Reopening Libraries,” led by Hildy Dworkin;
- presented a joint virtual roundtable with SLA’s Workplace Preparedness & Response Advisory Council (PREP) to share insights, best practice and supportive stories;
- submitted a report to the SLA Board of Directors on the task force’s progress and findings to date; and
- created a comprehensive list of organizations, websites, and other sources of information related to libraries and COVID-19.
Additional resources and information will be posted as they become available.
Project REALM
In late April 2020, SLA signed a joint letter with other library associations in support of a research partnership between OCLC, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Battelle to inform the safe handling of collections and reopening practices for libraries and museums following COVID-19 closures. This project is now operational as REopening Archives, Libraries and Museums (REALM). Following are updates from Project REALM:
- 22 June 2020: Research shows virus undetectable on five highly circulated library materials after three days
- 25 June 2020: Test set 2 announced, compilation of reopening references released
- 9 July 2020: Test set 3 announced
- 20 July 2020: Test 2 results available; longer quarantine may be needed for some stacked materials
- 4 August 2020: Test 4 begins on stacked materials
- 18 August 2020: Test 3 results available
- 3 September 2020: Test 4 results available
- 10 September 2020: Test 5 is under way
- 25 September 2020: Register for new webinar, Collections and Facilities: Caring for Your Resources During COVID-19
- 14 October 2020: Test 5 results available and Phase 2 literature review completed
- 22 October 2020: Test 6 is under way; toolkit materials are available
- 19 November 2020: Test 6 results available
- 11 February 2021: Test 7 and 8 results available
- 5 March 2021: Literature review and new toolkit resources available