Adapting the Workplace | Knowledge for Healthcare

Guidance from professional bodies and library services about adapting the workplace and returning to work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

UK Guidance

Book Quarantine

In response to the recent REALMS study the advice given to DCMS by PHE on 10 September 2020 is that this study would not form a basis on which to change current guidance.

The study is broadly compatible with the evidence base on which the quarantine guidance is based. In other words, there is a marked decline in the amount of virus remaining after 48 hours, falling still further after 72 hours.

CILIP Coronavirus Information Service

Coronavirus (Covid-19): Returning to the Workplace Guide – CIPD

COVID-19 General workplace safety risk assessment – CIPD (completed example)

COVID-19 Safer Libraries – part of the COVID-19 Safer Spaces project, developed by architects to help public places reopen safely with a particular focus on libraries.

Face coverings: when to wear one and how to make your own – DHSC/Cabinet Office

This guidance mentions wearing face coverings in ‘libraries and public reading rooms’.

We have had word from HEI colleagues that SCONUL has been in touch with the Department for Education (DfE) asking for clarification as to whether this applies to university libraries.

The DfE has clarified that this regulation does not apply to university libraries and that the intention is that the reference to “libraries” applies only to public libraries and public reading rooms in this instance.

This advice was issued based on there being other rules that apply to universities as spaces. For this reason hospital libraries should comply with their Trusts’ face coverings guidance.

Service recovery toolkit – Libraries Connected

Unlocking Libraries: Guidance for Post Lock-Down Reopening – Council for Learning Resources in Colleges (CoLRiC)

Working Safely During Covid-19 – HM Government