Help Prioritize How American Rescue Plan Act Funds are Spent
Directors, the State Library will soon receive an allotment of funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act for additional pandemic relief. This funding will come with limitations from the federal government on how it can be spent and with a deadline on when the funds must be exhausted.
In order to determine what will have the greatest impact to Iowa libraries and help us distribute the funding efficiently, please submit the brief survey below by Friday, April 2.
Thank you in advance for completing yet another survey from the State Library. 🙂
Responses on Library Open Status Survey
A big thank you to the 405 of you that shared information on your library’s open status!
Click the link below to access a spreadsheet of all responses; click the “Charts & Analysis” tab at the bottom for an additional worksheet containing some pie charts on selected questions.
Some interesting findings from the survey include:
- 74% of libraries require patrons to wear a mask while in the library.
- More than 90% of libraries are open for in building browsing and computer use.
- Libraries are split on continuing to offer virtual programs moving forward: 51.7% say they plan to while 48.3% say they will not.
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Updated Materials Handling Guidance from IDPH
Now that additional research has been completed on how long the coronavirus lives on surfaces and the likelihood of virus transmission from those surfaces, we reached out to the Iowa Department of Public Health for updated guidance on handling library materials. Here is the response they provided:
There is no evidence that COVID-19 is being spread through library books, so there is no national or state recommendation to quarantine books between patrons. If interested/able, libraries could educate patrons on proper handling of books (i.e., not sneezing into books and handwashing before handling them if they are sick).
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