Anonymous wrote:I've been a Montgomery County resident since 1990 and have always felt that the single best thing MoCo government does is to run an excellent library system. It has been my privilege to pay whatever portion of my tax dollars goes to supporting the library.

Over the past three decades I went to the library to . . .

study for the bar exam,

sing silly songs and listen to stories with my kids when they were preschoolers,

help these same kids to develop their research skills as elementary, middle and high school students,

tutor refugees learning to speak English,

and, of course, to borrow so many books that have educated me, amused me, and moved me to tears.

It is deeply disappointing that the County is not finding a way to reopen the libraries safely and to make the essential services they provide available to MoCo residents.

Anonymous wrote:I've been a Montgomery County resident since 1990 and have always felt that the single best thing MoCo government does is to run an excellent library system. It has been my privilege to pay whatever portion of my tax dollars goes to supporting the library.

Over the past three decades I went to the library to . . .

study for the bar exam,

sing silly songs and listen to stories with my kids when they were preschoolers,

help these same kids to develop their research skills as elementary, middle and high school students,

tutor refugees learning to speak English,

and, of course, to borrow so many books that have educated me, amused me, and moved me to tears.

It is deeply disappointing that the County is not finding a way to reopen the libraries safely and to make the essential services they provide available to MoCo residents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t libraries open? Elrich said he doesn’t have enough staffing to open the libraries. Did a bunch of librarians quit? I thought they were all still getting paid or were they laid off?

https://www.mymcmedia.org/elrich-i-dont-have-enough-staff-right-now-to-open-up-all-the-libraries/?fbclid=IwAR1h8PGS79cyK3YRAp1DRs7CY6olDbKsvN_v-IHkMobmoMvIaQAzTQlmB90

Yes, a bunch quit or retired. And, money is being saved by not rehiring people right away. Read the article.

This is another example of hypocrisy. Just like closing the schools for so long. If some dastardly Republican politicians came in and laid off a bunch of library workers and closed branches/cut hours and services to save money, people would be in a fury. But it’s ok if Democrats do it? There’s literally no reason why libraries can’t be open at 25-50% capacity just like every other business. A few homeless people hanging around isn’t going to make a meaningful difference in capacity. Library jobs are pretty well-paying, it’s not restaurant jobs where people can make more on unemployment, so hiring shouldn’t be a huge issue. And vaccines are rolling out rapidly, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable. It’s literally just excuses at this point, but we have to pretend to love it because the excuse-makers-in-chief are Democrats, not Republicans.

Well-paying?! Lol wut

It’ll make more than working retail or a restaurant and you’d have benefits.

You need a degree and you are employed by the county government, who can transfer you to other branches at will.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t libraries open? Elrich said he doesn’t have enough staffing to open the libraries. Did a bunch of librarians quit? I thought they were all still getting paid or were they laid off?

https://www.mymcmedia.org/elrich-i-dont-have-enough-staff-right-now-to-open-up-all-the-libraries/?fbclid=IwAR1h8PGS79cyK3YRAp1DRs7CY6olDbKsvN_v-IHkMobmoMvIaQAzTQlmB90

Yes, a bunch quit or retired. And, money is being saved by not rehiring people right away. Read the article.

This is another example of hypocrisy. Just like closing the schools for so long. If some dastardly Republican politicians came in and laid off a bunch of library workers and closed branches/cut hours and services to save money, people would be in a fury. But it’s ok if Democrats do it? There’s literally no reason why libraries can’t be open at 25-50% capacity just like every other business. A few homeless people hanging around isn’t going to make a meaningful difference in capacity. Library jobs are pretty well-paying, it’s not restaurant jobs where people can make more on unemployment, so hiring shouldn’t be a huge issue. And vaccines are rolling out rapidly, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable. It’s literally just excuses at this point, but we have to pretend to love it because the excuse-makers-in-chief are Democrats, not Republicans.

Well-paying?! Lol wut

It’ll make more than working retail or a restaurant and you’d have benefits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t libraries open? Elrich said he doesn’t have enough staffing to open the libraries. Did a bunch of librarians quit? I thought they were all still getting paid or were they laid off?

https://www.mymcmedia.org/elrich-i-dont-have-enough-staff-right-now-to-open-up-all-the-libraries/?fbclid=IwAR1h8PGS79cyK3YRAp1DRs7CY6olDbKsvN_v-IHkMobmoMvIaQAzTQlmB90

Yes, a bunch quit or retired. And, money is being saved by not rehiring people right away. Read the article.

This is another example of hypocrisy. Just like closing the schools for so long. If some dastardly Republican politicians came in and laid off a bunch of library workers and closed branches/cut hours and services to save money, people would be in a fury. But it’s ok if Democrats do it? There’s literally no reason why libraries can’t be open at 25-50% capacity just like every other business. A few homeless people hanging around isn’t going to make a meaningful difference in capacity. Library jobs are pretty well-paying, it’s not restaurant jobs where people can make more on unemployment, so hiring shouldn’t be a huge issue. And vaccines are rolling out rapidly, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable. It’s literally just excuses at this point, but we have to pretend to love it because the excuse-makers-in-chief are Democrats, not Republicans.

Well-paying?! Lol wut

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t libraries open? Elrich said he doesn’t have enough staffing to open the libraries. Did a bunch of librarians quit? I thought they were all still getting paid or were they laid off?

https://www.mymcmedia.org/elrich-i-dont-have-enough-staff-right-now-to-open-up-all-the-libraries/?fbclid=IwAR1h8PGS79cyK3YRAp1DRs7CY6olDbKsvN_v-IHkMobmoMvIaQAzTQlmB90

Yes, a bunch quit or retired. And, money is being saved by not rehiring people right away. Read the article.

This is another example of hypocrisy. Just like closing the schools for so long. If some dastardly Republican politicians came in and laid off a bunch of library workers and closed branches/cut hours and services to save money, people would be in a fury. But it’s ok if Democrats do it? There’s literally no reason why libraries can’t be open at 25-50% capacity just like every other business. A few homeless people hanging around isn’t going to make a meaningful difference in capacity. Library jobs are pretty well-paying, it’s not restaurant jobs where people can make more on unemployment, so hiring shouldn’t be a huge issue. And vaccines are rolling out rapidly, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable. It’s literally just excuses at this point, but we have to pretend to love it because the excuse-makers-in-chief are Democrats, not Republicans.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t libraries open? Elrich said he doesn’t have enough staffing to open the libraries. Did a bunch of librarians quit? I thought they were all still getting paid or were they laid off?

https://www.mymcmedia.org/elrich-i-dont-have-enough-staff-right-now-to-open-up-all-the-libraries/?fbclid=IwAR1h8PGS79cyK3YRAp1DRs7CY6olDbKsvN_v-IHkMobmoMvIaQAzTQlmB90

Yes, a bunch quit or retired. And, money is being saved by not rehiring people right away. Read the article.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t libraries open? Elrich said he doesn’t have enough staffing to open the libraries. Did a bunch of librarians quit? I thought they were all still getting paid or were they laid off?

https://www.mymcmedia.org/elrich-i-dont-have-enough-staff-right-now-to-open-up-all-the-libraries/?fbclid=IwAR1h8PGS79cyK3YRAp1DRs7CY6olDbKsvN_v-IHkMobmoMvIaQAzTQlmB90

Yes, a bunch quit or retired. And, money is being saved by not rehiring people right away. Read the article.

I copied the article below. I reread it, but I don’t see anything about saving money or why there are staffing shortages. The only real reason he presents is because of vaccination issues.


ELRICH: ‘I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF RIGHT NOW TO OPEN UP ALL THE LIBRARIES’

At his weekly media briefing on Wednesday, County Executive Marc Elrich was asked by a reporter about why libraries, recreation centers, and senior centers still have not reopened.

According to Elrich, there are “different issues” for why these places have not fully reopened. “One is you know we don’t we don’t have everybody vaccinated then unless you’re going to start using passports to determine who comes in we’d like to be at a higher level of vaccination before we generally open things up which is why we’ve set our targets based on the percentage of people vaccinated now,” he said.

Elrich said another issue is that the county has not filled vacant positions for libraries and recreation over the last year, so it requires going through a hiring process. “I don’t have enough staff right now to open up all the libraries,” he said.

Elrich said that the county is working on opening senior centers, but he did not have a date for when they will be back online.

Montgomery County Public Libraries are open only for holds-to-go programs and they have increased digital resources and programming. MCPL Director Anita Vassallo told MyMCM in April that the county libraries are developing a phased reopening plan, but there still is not a date for when libraries will loosen more of their restrictions.
Councilmember Hans Riemer tweeted yesterday that he supports reopening libraries and he took aim at Elrich for the fact that libraries are still closed.

“Let me be perfectly clear. There is no public health reason that libraries are closed. 25%, 50% capacity limits w social distancing apply to libraries, too. The libraries aren’t open because the @MontCoExec
hasn’t opened them,” Riemer tweeted.”

“We’ve tried to maintain an abundance of caution but we also know we are preparing to begin the reopening of libraries and centers and this will happen,” Elrich said.

Some recreation centers in Montgomery County have slowly started reopening, but they are only open on a limited basis. People can make appointments to use the gyms and there are fitness classes available for adults and children.

Dr. Earl Stoddard, the director of Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management, said that some of the recreation centers and libraries are being used for the pandemic response to help with testing and distributing vaccines.

Stoddard said some of the Recreation Department’s staff has been helping at vaccine sites but the staff will be freed from helping at these sites on May 8.

The county is working on reopening more centers, but it’s going to take some time, Stoddard said. “We don’t want to have our pandemic response lessened while simultaneously opening our senior center, so we want to be able to do both.”

It doesn't really makes sense that there are staffing shortages. Were county library employees laid-off due to the pandemic?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t libraries open? Elrich said he doesn’t have enough staffing to open the libraries. Did a bunch of librarians quit? I thought they were all still getting paid or were they laid off?

https://www.mymcmedia.org/elrich-i-dont-have-enough-staff-right-now-to-open-up-all-the-libraries/?fbclid=IwAR1h8PGS79cyK3YRAp1DRs7CY6olDbKsvN_v-IHkMobmoMvIaQAzTQlmB90

Yes, a bunch quit or retired. And, money is being saved by not rehiring people right away. Read the article.

I copied the article below. I reread it, but I don’t see anything about saving money or why there are staffing shortages. The only real reason he presents is because of vaccination issues.


ELRICH: ‘I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF RIGHT NOW TO OPEN UP ALL THE LIBRARIES’

At his weekly media briefing on Wednesday, County Executive Marc Elrich was asked by a reporter about why libraries, recreation centers, and senior centers still have not reopened.

According to Elrich, there are “different issues” for why these places have not fully reopened. “One is you know we don’t we don’t have everybody vaccinated then unless you’re going to start using passports to determine who comes in we’d like to be at a higher level of vaccination before we generally open things up which is why we’ve set our targets based on the percentage of people vaccinated now,” he said.

Elrich said another issue is that the county has not filled vacant positions for libraries and recreation over the last year, so it requires going through a hiring process. “I don’t have enough staff right now to open up all the libraries,” he said.

Elrich said that the county is working on opening senior centers, but he did not have a date for when they will be back online.

Montgomery County Public Libraries are open only for holds-to-go programs and they have increased digital resources and programming. MCPL Director Anita Vassallo told MyMCM in April that the county libraries are developing a phased reopening plan, but there still is not a date for when libraries will loosen more of their restrictions.
Councilmember Hans Riemer tweeted yesterday that he supports reopening libraries and he took aim at Elrich for the fact that libraries are still closed.

“Let me be perfectly clear. There is no public health reason that libraries are closed. 25%, 50% capacity limits w social distancing apply to libraries, too. The libraries aren’t open because the @MontCoExec
hasn’t opened them,” Riemer tweeted.”

“We’ve tried to maintain an abundance of caution but we also know we are preparing to begin the reopening of libraries and centers and this will happen,” Elrich said.

Some recreation centers in Montgomery County have slowly started reopening, but they are only open on a limited basis. People can make appointments to use the gyms and there are fitness classes available for adults and children.

Dr. Earl Stoddard, the director of Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management, said that some of the recreation centers and libraries are being used for the pandemic response to help with testing and distributing vaccines.

Stoddard said some of the Recreation Department’s staff has been helping at vaccine sites but the staff will be freed from helping at these sites on May 8.

The county is working on reopening more centers, but it’s going to take some time, Stoddard said. “We don’t want to have our pandemic response lessened while simultaneously opening our senior center, so we want to be able to do both.”

Anonymous wrote:I think this pandemic has shown us just how unneeded public libraries even are. Why not just give low income families B&N gift cards each year to buy books? And keep up internet hotspots outside county buildings?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t libraries open? Elrich said he doesn’t have enough staffing to open the libraries. Did a bunch of librarians quit? I thought they were all still getting paid or were they laid off?

https://www.mymcmedia.org/elrich-i-dont-have-enough-staff-right-now-to-open-up-all-the-libraries/?fbclid=IwAR1h8PGS79cyK3YRAp1DRs7CY6olDbKsvN_v-IHkMobmoMvIaQAzTQlmB90

Yes, a bunch quit or retired. And, money is being saved by not rehiring people right away. Read the article.