ILDS Item Quarantine Policy Update

Based on new quarantine period information from the two library systems, RAILS and IHLS, we are recommending that all ILDS libraries quarantine outgoing items for 24 hours prior to shipping the items through ILDS. The 24-hour period for quarantining items would begin when a patron last touched the item. Items that are in stacks open to patrons should be quarantined for 24 hours prior to being shipped through ILDS. The items for shipment should remain untouched for 24 hours. Library staff that are following safe hygiene practices, wearing masks, and not working while symptomatic, should not restart the quarantine period by handling the item. After the item has been quarantined for 24 hours, library staff should ship the materials through ILDS, following the normal procedures for creating labels and packing the bags.

IHLS and RAILS will not be quarantining the ILDS bags in their hubs. All bags going from one ILDS stop to another ILDS stop remain closed during the sorting process and therefore those items will not be touched by delivery staff.

Once the items arrive at their destination, the receiving library should follow their own internal guidelines for quarantining incoming items, however as long as the recommendation is followed no further quarantining of items should be necessary

If you have questions concerning quarantine times, please contact CARLI Support at support@carli.illinois.edu. Continue to send all stop or start delivery requests to the Library Systems using their ticketing support system email addresses, IHLS – ihlsdelivery@illinoisheartland.org and RAILS – railsdelivery@railslibraries.info.

These are challenging times and delivery processes continue to be fluid. Thank you for all you are doing in your library to make ILDS delivery a safe and efficient process.