Preparing for Coronavirus?

[spork]

I have more canned pumpkin. Pie is in the oven.

[dismalist]

-Local supermarket has stopped making deliveries. :-(
-Local wine shop still makes deliveries! :-)

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I have more canned pumpkin. Pie is in the oven.

Pumpkin pie sounds wonderful! Have you ever tried it using coconut milk?

[spork]

I have more canned pumpkin. Pie is in the oven.

Pumpkin pie sounds wonderful! Have you ever tried it using coconut milk?

Nope. But I do use soy milk.

[spork]

Took the wifey on an excursion to the nearby low-end supermarket today. Obviously the place is heavily patronized by immigrants -- dried beans were completely gone and so were most of the frozen vegetables. Plenty of toilet paper on the shelves; paranoid demand for that is a white people thing.

[mamselle]

I made a very very good curry last night (if I say so myself).

First time in awhile I've had the chicken, tomato, peppers, veggies, and curry powder all in the same place at the same time.

Three night's worth will be about right...

Yum!

M.

(Maybe this belongs on the calming thread...but, oh, well...)

[hmaria1609]

Breaking: All schools in VA are closed until the end of the school year, announced by Gov. Northam:
https://wtop.com/coronavirus/2020/03/coronavirus-cases-in-dc-region-surge-near-600-national-guard-to-enforce-tidal-basin-restrictions/
In MD, all non-essential businesses must close by 5 pm today.

[apl68]

Our Board of Trustees has now shut down our library for what looks like the next four weeks.  Totally.  We will no longer be able to offer even the limited services we were offering.  Looks like I will essentially be reduced to a building caretaker who can't be of any real service to anybody.  I've never felt so useless in my life.

[mamselle]

Even a closed library can be useful!

I just wrote an extensive note to an archivist, who, if they can send me the online links, will have helped me with a research problem I've been hung up on for weeks.

There are lots of things that help people virtually, I do understand the feeling of isolation and frustration (my sister's a librarian in a small library in a midwest town) but I'm seeing lots of offerings from my own local library that make it clear they have found a niche for themselves in this situation.

Depending on the level of resources, some of those programs might not be in your library's range, but I'd be glad to share them, for whatever they may be worth.

Be of good cheer.

I'll PM you. 

M.

[hmaria1609]

Last week I found out we'll be closed through next month than the previously announced 2 weeks. (Same for the city public school system)

Apl68: there's a discussion thread or two about offering virtual services while the library is closed on ALA Connect.

[apl68]

Even a closed library can be useful!

I just wrote an extensive note to an archivist, who, if they can send me the online links, will have helped me with a research problem I've been hung up on for weeks.

There are lots of things that help people virtually, I do understand the feeling of isolation and frustration (my sister's a librarian in a small library in a midwest town) but I'm seeing lots of offerings from my own local library that make it clear they have found a niche for themselves in this situation.

Depending on the level of resources, some of those programs might not be in your library's range, but I'd be glad to share them, for whatever they may be worth.

Be of good cheer.

I'll PM you. 

M.

But see, that's the whole problem.  We just don't have the resources.  We're a small-town public library with a home-made web site that's only just barely functional.  One of the most frustrating things about this situation is that we were scheduled to begin a comprehensive professional re-design of our site that would have made it far, far more functional.  But that's on hold now like everything else.  With our physical facility shut down, we're almost entirely useless to the public.  I've been reduced to a building caretaker.  There are tasks I can do here to catch up on stuff, but as far as direct public service is concerned, we just can't do it. 

[mamselle]

Oh, dear. Ouch.

Sorry for my blind spot.

I hope you find a away through, perhaps by email, or something, of links for home schooling, etc?

M.

[apl68]

Oh, dear. Ouch.

Sorry for my blind spot.

I hope you find a away through, perhaps by email, or something, of links for home schooling, etc?

M.

We're going to try to get the staff together for some virtual meetings to get the web site project moving forward. 

I'd love to try offering some virtual story times over social media and the like.  Unfortunately the staff member who does those sorts of things (and is quite good at it, when she wants to be) is really hard to get moving when it comes to trying something new.

I've still got all sorts of admin work to do--paying bills, answering e-mails, and getting statistics together for the annual statistical report, among other things.  Today I'm mostly trying to get past the shock of suddenly shutting down, after days of the craziness of trying to keep at least limited services going.

[Anselm]

My school has just "upped its game" and increased our restrictions.   All students must leave the dorms by Sunday evening but a few will remain behind who have nowhere else to go.   A few students were doing labs and ceramics but spaced far apart in the classrooms.  That is over with for now.  The strange thing is that official announcements suggest all is going back to normal as of April 13th.  My colleagues and I simply don't see that happening.   At this point my biggest concern is if we will have summer classes which begin after Memorial Day.

[marshwiggle]

My school has just "upped its game" and increased our restrictions.   All students must leave the dorms by Sunday evening but a few will remain behind who have nowhere else to go.   A few students were doing labs and ceramics but spaced far apart in the classrooms.  That is over with for now.  The strange thing is that official announcements suggest all is going back to normal as of April 13th.  My colleagues and I simply don't see that happening.   At this point my biggest concern is if we will have summer classes which begin after Memorial Day.

Since they're predicting a year to 18 months for a vaccine to be developped, it's more likely to be Memorial Day 2021.