Help! is this even possible?

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Help! is this even possible?

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1artgirl64
marraskuu 9, 2017, 3:06 pm

I'm a circulation assistant in a college library with a collection of about 150,000 books. Today we were informed that due to an electrical issue , the library will be shut down for two months (possibly three) this summer. They plan to move us to another building but obviously, the books won't be coming along.
People are being urged to take all their vacation time.
My boss says we'll have to "figure something out about coming into the building to retrieve books." Um...we will not have electricity or AC. Isn't this an OSHA issue? If it is, is there any way I can find out for sure? I mean, won't this be more or less a construction zone??

I guess they cannot cancel summer classes or it will be a problem for the school's coffers. But there's another college nearby with whom we share tuition exchange and a bookstore. Couldn't people use that library instead?

Am I alone in thinking this is absurd?

2lesmel
marraskuu 9, 2017, 3:24 pm

3/4 of my work library is under construction right now. We haven't been allowed in the constructions zone; however, two weeks ago, we gained access to a plastic-draped area within the construction zone.

My public library (the one I visit as a patron) is completely closed to patrons and all the staff have been moved to other branches. Still, there's a small group of staff that goes into the library for pulling books.

As long as you are following safety guidelines for whoever is running the construction project, you should be fine. YMMV. I'm not a lawyer. I'm not a construction person. I'm not an OSHA inspector. etc etc etc

3artgirl64
marraskuu 9, 2017, 3:29 pm

We had construction last year, with plastic draping everywhere etc., staircases off limits, etc. People were still allowed to use the collection (except for some special collections items).

Our numbers went way way down. Nobody wanted to spend time in here because of all the noise and dirt.

4RowanTribe
marraskuu 11, 2017, 11:53 am

On-site electricity and bathroom facilities are actually not generally required for workers, nor does a basic construction closure usually rise to the level of "hazardous" working conditions, legally speaking. OSHA is concerned about workplace safety, but regular construction or simply being without power won't reach that level. There are rules laid down by your state and possibly by the college which establish base-line working conditions: generally these specify that there are restrooms available "within reasonable distance" and that the temperatures for office workers not be under or over some ridiculous actual temperatures (the ones I've seen have said things like 60 to 85 degrees F are "reasonable" which is a ridiculously wide range for an office).

What is most likely to happen is that the "construction zone" portion of the damaged building will be a draped-off area "off limits to the public" (our state only requires buildings have running water to be open to to the public, not electricity) or that the whole library building will be closed to students, but that they can ask for things to be "pulled" for their use. Most likely either way the students will have to make use of a community center or find their own study areas during the summer semester.

If it were me, I'd be concerned about two things.
1) How is the person (or people) retrieving books going to SEE to fetch them, as libraries don't usually have a lot of natural light.
2) If it's going to be very hot in there (which is likely) then there needs to be strict time-limits on the "fetching books" process established to insure worker safety - ie - you can only be inside the building for X hours before a mandatory off-site break to re-hydrate and cool down. Again, your state should have guidelines available to reference.

5artgirl64
marraskuu 21, 2017, 9:29 am

The building itself isn't actually going to be under construction. It will be without power, air conditioning, Internet, etc. The work is taking place outside (there's an underground electrical transformer that needs replacing). Sorry--should have been more clear about this in my original post.

There is a rumor going around that we're going to be allowed to come in with flashlights to look for books. I think this is beyond ridiculous. And it probably will be extremely hot. Not to mention: how will we get a large number of books in/out without being able to put a cart on a non-operating elevator.