Advise on Covid-19 is changing hourly so please keep watching email, Counterculture and the website to keep up-to-date.
Currently all mass gatherings in NZ are banned. Schools and universities are exempt at the moment, but there will be additional advice from the Ministry of Education to follow. Whatever we plan for will have to be consistent with Ministry of Health coronavirus advice and protocols (which is changing by the day), and the existing UC advice. As we plan our way forward there are four horizons the university is looking at. The first three are most relevant to the Library at this point in time.
- The next three weeks to see out Term 1
- Term 2 to the end of Semester 1 (which might get moved slightly or delayed on future decisions)
- Semester 2
- Beyond 2020
The Library has it’s own work stream in the UC response to Covid-19. Library managers have been meeting to plan our response and will be reporting daily to Ian, the VC, and the IMT (Incident Management Team). A small team of Te Paea, Jo and Tim and a yet to be appointed scribe is being put together to work on the managing the response within the Library. The preference is to keep the Libraries open for the next three weeks depending on the situation. The UC top priority is a focus on the needs of undergraduate students.
We will be asking some staff to trial working from home over the coming days to ensure that if we need to the technology and physical environment is fit for purpose.
Our staff are also a priority. Please let your manager know if you are immune compromised in any way or if you have any concerns about yourself, or anyone you are living with or are responsible for. Knowing in advance helps us to plan and take into account individual staff circumstances across the Library.
This can be a stressful time both physically and mentally. Take care of yourself and one another. Ask your manager or colleagues if you need help now or think you may in the future if your situation changes. There is always support available. Anne