Dongdaemun District Library Infectious Disease Crisis Response Manual Production

Minimizing Resident Inconvenience During Library Closures, Aiming to Provide Safe Reading Culture Services

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) is producing and distributing the 'Infectious Disease Crisis Response Manual for Public Libraries' (hereinafter referred to as the manual).

An official from the district stated that the manual was created to protect library staff and users during the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and to alleviate inconveniences to residents caused by long-term closures.

The manual includes the library's response procedures and measures based on laws related to the prevention and management of infectious diseases.

The main contents include ▲step-by-step operational standards according to the risk classification system during infectious disease outbreaks ▲library operation plans under restricted operations ▲designation of quarantine managers and establishment of response plans for library preparedness during infectious disease outbreaks ▲various government guidelines related to infectious diseases.

In particular, the district specified in the manual the duties and roles during library closures to minimize inconvenience to residents and to smoothly provide reading and cultural services even during the closure period of multi-use facilities due to the escalation of social risk levels. This includes ▲operation of non-face-to-face reservation lending systems ▲expansion of online services ▲collection inspection and environmental maintenance ▲strengthening of facility quarantine activities, selecting services possible during closures to focus on necessary tasks.

This manual is scheduled to be applied to public libraries and public small libraries in the region in March. The district also plans to distribute the manual to private small libraries so they can refer to and utilize it according to their characteristics.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, stated, “During periods when infectious diseases are prevalent, libraries, which are multi-use facilities with a high risk of virus exposure, require prompt measures to prevent infectious diseases and systematic responses at the early stages. We have prepared this manual to achieve that.” He added, “We will continue to take proactive measures to maintain library functions stably and minimize damage caused by COVID-19.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.