COVID-19 forces library to close

The Lincoln Parish Library will be closed today until Monday due to COVID-19 exposure among its staff.

According to an announcement from the library Tuesday afternoon, one employee tested positive for the novel coronavirus Tuesday, and a high percentage of personnel were exposed.

The library building will be professionally cleaned Friday.

All employees who do not exhibit symptoms will return to work when the library reopens on Monday. Those who do exhibit symptoms will not return until they test negative for COVID.

The closure has not changed plans for the library’s Board of Control meeting today at 4 p.m. at the library’s Events Center. The Events Center is essentially a separate building that employees and the public don’t normally occupy except for when an event is being held.

The Board of Control plans to discuss the recent decision to remove several LGBTQ children’s books from the children’s department shelves and make them available by request only. But now, library Director Vivian McCain will reportedly not be able to attend the meeting due to COVID exposure.