The latest version of reopening guidelines for public libraries has been released. The Wisconsin Public Libraries Reopening Guide, a collaborative effort between the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and the Wisconsin public library community, provides a process to help libraries develop their own reopening plans. This reopening guide focuses on the safety of staff and the community and is specific to the needs of libraries and library services during this COVID-19 public health event. The decision about how and when to reopen a library remains a local decision.
The overview document offers an “At-A-Glance” view of the process, presented as steps in decision-making at the local level, while the full Reopening Guide provides a “deep dive” into different aspects of reopening, including an occupancy calculator, which can help a library determine how many people it will allow in the library or a specific space.
Please NOTE these documents replace the previous reopening guidelines due to the cancellation of the DHS Safer at Home orders and the Badger Bounce Back Plan, this guide is no longer aligned with such orders. Further, while the Reopening Guide will evolve as additional information becomes available, scaled service levels no longer exist.
Feel free to direct any questions about the guide to WVLS staff at .
Shannon M. Schultz, Public Library Administration Consultant
Division for Libraries & Technology
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction