News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Putnam County Library will reopen to the public Monday.
The Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to move onto the second phase of the library’s reopening plan. Library Director Phil Schaller said Phase II will allow the public back into the building.
“Phase II is where we move further into reopening,” Schaller said. “In this phase we’ll still have curbside checkout available, but we’re also opening our doors so people can come inside.
Schaller said Phase II will allow people back into the library without appointment to use computers, but patrons will not be able to browse the shelves for books.
Library officials are using data supplied by the Tennessee Department of Health to help make decisions, Schaller said. He said COVID cases will have to decrease further before moving to Phase III.
“The data we’re looking at right now is the average daily new cases for Putnam County,” Schaller said. “As we see the last March, those were on the rise. This first week of June, we saw a dramatic decline. We’ve seen a further decline this week, too. As we see that number decline, that is the data main data driver we’re using.”
Also on Tuesday, the Board of Trustees voted to approve $3,844 dollars for a new phone system from Twin Lakes Telephone. The upgrade will save the library $200 to $250 dollars per month.
