Vaccination passport required on entry, despite the current exemption for libraries. Wearing a mask for children 8 to 10 years old. Closure of book shelves or workspaces. Public libraries in Quebec choose to impose stricter rules than those required by Public Health. Fair precautions, or “tailor-made”? And do these barriers further stop contagion or access to libraries?
The portrait of the sanitary measures in place in Quebec libraries is particularly variegated these days. Some, like Micheline-Gagnon in Montreal-East or Guy-Bélisle in Saint-Eustache, require the vaccination passport to let readers in, even if they do not have to do so according to Public Health.
Others prevent access to their workspaces. Still others have even closed all their spaces – shelves, access to collections, work tables and computers – to offer only the “contactless pick-up service”, as at the Westmount Library. This library did not respond to questions from the Duty.
“It is indeed possible that an establishment will put in place more severe measures than those which are currently compulsory, replied the Ministry of Health, for example the fact of requiring the vaccine passport on its premises. In such a case, it is up to the institution to ensure that the measure complies with the various laws in force, in particular the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. »
Libraries must also, during the pandemic, pursue their mission and embody their values, “even if the managers of the library and the decision-makers of the municipality are sovereign”, recalls the specialist in public libraries at the University of Montreal, Marie D Martel.
“We can say that a library that asks for a vaccination passport to access the library is failing in its essential role, which is to be the gateway to culture and knowledge, as the UNESCO Manifesto on the public library or the Declaration of Quebec libraries. »
This is what the Montarville-Boucher-De La Bruère library did in Boucherville. For four weeks during the holidays, they required the vaccination passport to access the counter to pick up their reservations. This directive was lifted on January 24.
“Our strategy is to be more cautious than cautious and stricter than strict,” said City Manager Roger Maisonneuve with pride. In Boucherville, as in the city of Saint-Eustache, the outbreaks of COVID-19 at the swimming pool and at the municipal arena justify the over-measures imposed on the library, even if sports circles have very high levels of risk of contagion. higher.
Young masked readers
The City of Montreal’s library network has not escaped the temptation to add measures to the sanitary arsenal either. Until last Friday, its site “COVID-19: services available in libraries” indicated the “instructions to be followed”. “Wearing a face covering is compulsory at all times, even when seated at a place of work, for anyone 8 years of age and over. Public Health requires it from the age of 10.
“This is the compromise we made to keep the libraries open”, indicated, under the eyes of the journalist who was there by chance, a librarian from Le Prévost, after warning an 8-year-old child whose the mask fell from the nose.
According to the City of Montreal, “the request to wear face coverings for children aged 8 and over was a recommendation, not a requirement, which was consistent with the minimum age required to attend alone (without the presence of a adult) the libraries of the Montreal agglomeration”. Following questions from the Dutyan adjustment has been made to the webpage, bringing the mask requirement back to people 10 years and older.
Faced with so many different health reactions, what does the Association of Public Libraries advocate? A “moderate and democratic position, in connection with the role of libraries, as indicated by its director general, Eve Lagacé. We want to ensure the safety of as many people as possible, of employees, but also that free access remains. There needs to be a balance between free access and security. »
It is that imposing the vaccine passport was a way of avoiding the closure of certain municipal libraries, explained confidentially a library specialist, while recalling the power of municipalities, which do not all also understand the mission of libraries.
“There were fears on the human resources side, and adding sanitary measures was a way of calming them, and keeping as many library services open as possible. ” For meme Martel, the real risk for libraries currently is not so much more or less sanitary. Especially since all public health specialists agree that these are places that are not very conducive to outbreaks.
Third place and place of refuge
The risk lies rather in the way of applying and communicating the rules, believes the professor of librarianship. “When a library harshly rebuffs a user whose mask hangs under his nose or puts up posters that say “Thank you for shortening your visit”, it is also missing out on its mission. Exaggeratedly multiplying regulations that are difficult to apply, producing unpleasant or discourteous messages compromises the relationship with the public that we nevertheless want to see again. »
For the specialist, and former librarian, “librarians, more than ever, must not stop being empathetic and attentive to the experience of users. This is not the time to dehumanize the library, to give up the concern for reception and to unduly worsen social distance when we have been working so hard for a few years to make it a good place, a place of hospitality in the city. » A third place. A place of refuge. For everyone.