In April, 2013 the board of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library directed its then-chief executive officer to prepare a business continuity plan.
The idea was to have a policy outlining what would be done to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of staff, volunteers and library patrons in the event of an emergency that threatened continuity of business operations.
This emergency plan was to be reviewed annually by the library board.
It seems it never happened.
When the COVID-19 emergency broke last month, now-chief executive officer Matthew MacDonald scrambled to find the plan.
Not only couldn't he find it, but he could find no evidence that it ever existed.
"When this COVID-19 first started rearing its ugly head, we started looking at some of the procedures and policies, and we didn't have a whole lot that addressed this particular emergency situation," MacDonald told a meeting of the library board on Monday night.
"I could not find a plan. I could not find really any evidence that there was a plan that was created. It should have been created about seven years ago but there was a lot of turn-over."
Better late than never, library directors approved a new plan on Monday night.
MacDonald says the new plan draws heavily on one drafted by the Oshawa Public Library, with additions from Sault Ste. Marie Public Library's own emergency closing policies.
The new document is designed to cover a wide range of emergencies in addition to pandemics, including fires, civil unrest and floods.
It outlines responsibilities of the chief executive officer, management team and library board.
Major emphasis is placed on keeping the library website and social media operational even when the library must be closed.
If staffing shortage necessitates closure of a library, priority will be given to keeping the downtown James L. McIntyre Library open.
All local public libraries have been closed since March 17.
The focus has now shifted to providing virtual library services.
Monday night's board videoconference was Zoombombed (see photo above) by an uninvited intruder believed to have been the west end of an east-facing housecat.
