[OPLINLIST] "To mask or not to mask"

[Chad Neeper]

As you are perhaps making your own informed decisions on whether to
encourage/discourage/permit/require/disallow staff to wear masks as you
venture back into your library and interact with other staff and the
public, I found the following video to be very useful to fully understand
the very latest understanding behind the concept. The video is part of a
daily release by Dr. John Campbell, a British "retired Nurse Teacher and A
and E nurse based in England" (bio quote
<https://www.youtube.com/user/Campbellteaching/about>), who takes a world
view and explains relevant medical concepts in a way that us mere mortals
and science averse can very easily understand. His explanations may appear
long-ish (often 15-20 minutes), but he begins each video with a quick
~60-second summary for those with short attention spans. The quick summary
seems sufficient to get the concept across.

Today's video is titled "To mask or not to mask" and is topical:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycf6bAMKgjg

Considering that surgical/homemade masks primarily protect *other people*
and *not the wearer*, and considering that circ and other staff that
directly interact with large numbers of patrons and could end up
unknowingly (without symptoms) being vectors for the spread of COVID-19 to
their communities, I'm curious if libraries are/will consider mask policies
until there are no longer outbreaks of COVID-19. I know that some very few
of the libraries I work with have had a specific pandemic policy in place,
but I don't recall hearing about that level of detail or specificity in the
policy. As an individual that travels between libraries and communities
across the state, it seems prudent that perhaps I should also consider such
a policy!

>From a legal angle, do you suppose there is any liability to the library
for NOT requiring patron-interacting staff to wear masks when there are
still active outbreaks and it seems to be known that COVID-19 can spread
asymptomatically and via sneezing, coughing, talking, and even breathing?
But in this litigious society, sad as it is, I expect someone could test
that argument in court eventually. (Hopefully, not with a community-serving
public library!!)

Just thinking ahead (and perhaps inducing others to think ahead too)...
Chad
______________________________
*Chad Neeper*
Senior Systems Engineer

*Level 9 Networks*
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

*Full IT/Computer consulting services -- Specialized in public libraries*
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