UPDATE 5/5/20:

Talcott will continue to stay closed through the end of May in accordance with the governor’s executive order. But we are guessing that you are starting to get curious about our reopening plans. We are working hard to figure out what those plans will be but there is a lot that that decision will depend on. Our library consortia PrairieCat and our library support RAILS have their own decisions to make about resuming service and their decisions impact ours. Our current main concern is for the safety of our staff when we resume services. See this news article about research that is being done on how the virus lives on library materials and best practices. The outcome of this study will highly impact how/when we reopen. We will likely open in phases, starting with some type of curbside pick up services, but keep checking back here for more information as time moves forward. We will update this page as often as possible. Thank you for your patience in this outbreak and for helping keep our community healthy.

We miss the library and all of you and very much look forward to getting back to whatever this new normal will be!

UPDATE 3/31/20:

In accordance with Governor Pritzker’s stay-at-home directive, Talcott Free Library will now be closed through April 30th. As we get closer to that date we will update you with how/when we will reopen and what that will look like.

All library materials will be renewed and any fines that may occur will be waived. Please do not return materials until we have reopened. You can contact us through our website www.talcottfreelibrary.com/contact with any questions or concerns. Remember, there are many resources on our website as well to help fill your time while at home.

Thank you for your patience in this outbreak and for helping keep our community healthy.

UPDATE 3/20/20:

In accordance with Governor Pritzker’s stay-at-home directive, Talcott Free Library will be closed through Tuesday, April 7th.

All library materials will be renewed and any fines that may occur will be waived. Please do not return materials until we have reopened. You can contact us through our website www.talcottfreelibrary.com/contact with any questions or concerns. Remember, there are many resources on our website as well to help fill your time while at home.

Thank you for your patience in this outbreak and for helping keep our community healthy.

UPDATE 3/16/20:

The Illinois Library Association has recommended that all public libraries close to the public for the next 2 weeks, and in accordance with this recommendation and following the lead of all other area libraries, Talcott will be closed from March 17th through March 31st. In addition, our consortium, PrairieCat, is suspending holds requests for everyone starting tomorrow, March 17th through March 31st. This means that you will not be able to place holds on any items during this period of time. Thank you for your patience with this evolving issue.

In the meantine, we are open until 8pm today, Monday, March 16th. On Tuesday, March 17th you can still pick up items that are currently on the holdshelf for you. Please call the library when you arrive and a staff member will check the item out to your card and bring it out to you. Hold pick up will end at 8pm on Tuesday and the library will be completely closed to the public until April 1.

All materials that are currently checked out are being renewed through April 7th. No overdue charges will be accrued and anything that may have already been accrued will be waived during this time period. You can still drop off materials in the book drop on the back of the building if you would like, but please know that these items will likely not be checked in until April 1st.

Thank you for being a library patron and helping us slow the spread of this virus. People at high risk for COVID-19 are important parts of our community and we appreciate your help in protecting them.

UPDATE 3/14/20:

At Talcott Library we understand the concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak. We are currently planning on remaining open, but in acting with the quarantine recommendations of the state and CDC, all programs (including all toddler times and story hours) at Talcott are now canceled through March 31, 2020 . For the safety of everyone during this time, we are discouraging the public from congregating by not allowing groups of more than 5 to visit the library. Groups larger than this will be turned away during this time period. In accordance with this decision, patrons are encouraged to make only short visits to the library for materials drop off and/or pick up to help stop any progression of the COVID-19 outbreak. Parents: Please consider playing at home instead of coming to Talcott for play time. Many of the kids computer game sites are available for free from home as well as Tumblebooks through our resources page. If you have students who need internet access we encourage you to contact Comcast about their free 60 day access– please see our other post regarding this service being offered.

There continue to be no verified cases in Winnebago County so far and we want to do our part to make sure that this trend continues for the safety of the higher at risk in our community. This is an evolving matter and we strive to be able to continue to serve the community during this time, but we also reserve the right to make changes if these guidelines do not do enough to encourage people to self quarantine. If large numbers of people still gather at the library, we will consider closing completely to the public. Any overdue fines will be waived during this period, but you can also continue to call, email, or message us concerning items you have currently checked out.

Original post 3/13/20:

Although no outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported in our area, we at Talcott are concerned for the safety of our community. We are closely following the outbreak and will continue to monitor all information as it becomes available. Being part of the center of Rockton’s community activity, we place a high priority on the health and safety of our patrons and staff. Our custodian and the library staff maintain a rigorous schedule of cleaning and surface disinfection throughout the library and we have increased the frequency of it. In addition, we have removed our stuffed animals and other children’s toys with fabric or felt/foam pieces until March 31st at which time we will reevaluate.

The library will continue to follow normal hours of operation and the book drop located on the back of the building is always available. Until the virus has verified cases in Winnebago County our programs will go on as planned (for now). Please continue to check the library’s website or our Facebook page for the latest updates.