Erving Library Trustees Vote to Expand Appointment Hours and Ease Quarantine Rules

ERVING — March 21, 2021 — Erving Library Trustees voted to expand in-person appointments to four days a week and ease pandemic-era material quarantine rules at their March 21 meeting. The board unanimously approved adding Mondays and Tuesdays to the existing Thursday-Sunday appointment schedule and extended evening hours to 7 p.m., citing a statewide tally showing roughly 97 Massachusetts libraries open as of mid-February. Trustees also cut the quarantine period for returned book-drop items from seven days to three and eliminated it entirely for interlibrary delivery bins already held seven days in the warehouse. A draft hotspot lending policy covering two devices — each valued at roughly $140 for replacement — was discussed but held pending clarification on actual hardware costs and contract terms. The board separately directed staff to demand firm completion dates from contractors on a still-unresolved list of building defects at the new library, including delaminating doors, structural beam cracks, and a faulty entrance door, with a warning that trustee input in the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners final grant report — due in April — would reflect honestly on contractor responsiveness.