The Great Falls Public Library board voted March 16 to close the library to the public beginning March 17 until further notice due to COVID-19 outbreak.

Staff will still report to the library and be available to answer questions by phone and online services will remain in place.

Library phone lines will be staffed 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for the foreseeable future.

Cascade County COVID-19 updates

Library staff will explore options for providing curbside book pickup and provide updates if that option becomes available within health guidelines and available staffing levels.

Some library staff is out sick, some are self quarantined, some have to take care of children that are out due to the statewide school closures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Library staff recommended to the board to close the library to the public since it was becoming too labor intensive to disinfect the library at the levels recommended by health agencies with available staff and still provide services.

Late fees will not be accrued during this time. Items may still be returned in exterior drop boxes. The library has requested that if a household member has shown signs of illness to call the library about arranging return of the checked out items.

Library Director Susie McIntyre said she was on conference calls Monday with the Montana State Library for discussion of the impact of the pandemic to libraries. Libraries in other Montana communities had already decided to close and were exploring options for providing curbside book pickup, McIntyre said.

“We cannot stay open our regular hours,” she said since there isn’t enough staff to handle regular services and the additional COVID-19 mitigation measures recommended by health agencies. “Everything is changing so quickly.”

The state library did not provide guidance on whether to close, instead deferring to local health officials.

“There are definite concerns that we could be a center for transmission,” McIntyre told board members.

McIntyre said she also met with Cascade County City-County Health Department officials and representatives from local social services agencies on Monday to discuss plans for homeless people since the library serves as a day center for many people living at the Great Falls Rescue Mission or who otherwise have nowhere to go.

Those agencies are working on plans to provide shelter and transportation since the public bus system is also suspended.

There are discussions at the state library and internally at the Great Falls library to reallocate funding into online services to provide more resources for the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, but those decisions have not yet been made.

Library staff rushed to deliver books to nursing homes last week before they locked down since some residents were panicked about being stuck without books for a length of time.

McIntyre told the library board that there are some community members who able to communicate with their families by using Wi-Fi at the library.

The library’s WI-Fi will remain on and available in the vicinity of the library, such as the parking lot, though it’s spotty outside the building. Cascade County public Wi-Fi is often available outside the courthouse and the courthouse annex buildings as well.

McIntyre said the outbreak “completely exacerbates the haves and the have nots,” since those with internet or devices to access reading materials and other resources are less impacted by the closure of libraries and other public services. “That’s some of my biggest concern.”