After consultation with the town Emergency Management Committee, the Board of Selectmen, and the Nesmith Library trustees, we have decided to close the Nesmith Library to the public from March 17 until April 6, 2020 at which time we will reassess the situation. We are making this very difficult decision based on the recommendations of town, state and federal health departments.
When available, the staff will answer questions via email at info@nesmithlibrary.org and through messages to our Facebook page.
Please visit our Updates page for the most up to date information about library procedures, as well as Town of Windham and Windham School District updates. Please visit our Health Resources page for recommended sources of information about COVID-19.
Download a copy of this 3/24/2020 Letter from the Director.
Dear Nesmith Library Community,
As we are adjusting to the measures our community and world have had to take to curb the spread of Covid-19, I wanted to help everyone understand the difficult decisions the library and library trustees have had to make in closing the library.
I decided to not only close the library to patrons, but also close the book drop, and not provide any in-person services. Given the World Health Organization’s guidance on how long the virus can live on materials, “It is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment).” , I made this decision to keep my staff and the community safe with the full support of our trustees.
While I understand the desire to replenish your supplies of reading and watching materials, in my view, the uncertainties are too great. Hypothetically, one of my staff may be infected, not know, and unwittingly pass the virus on to patrons or family members. We invite you to visit our website. My staff has been working hard, mostly from home, to make resources available to the community during this time. We’ve made all our digital resources and services accessible from the front page of the website so everything will be easy to find.
We are also monitoring the library phone messages, email, and Facebook. Please reach out to us with questions, concerns, or requests and someone will get back to you as soon as possible. Social distancing is not social isolation. Contact us if you need us and we will help where we can.
Please remember to check in with family, friends, or neighbors who may not have internet access and let them know about local news updates and resources you’ve seen that might be of benefit to them.
Stay safe! My staff and I look forward to seeing everyone when this crisis is over,
Sylvie Brikiatis
Nesmith Library Director
Previous communications: Download a copy of the 3/16/2020 Letter to the Public from Library Director Sylvie Brikiatis.