An estimated one-third of the staff of the Central Arkansas Library System has received the first shot of the covid-19 vaccine, board members of the library were told in a written report from the executive director prepared for Thursday's board meeting.
System Executive Director Nate Coulter wrote that 55 staffers received their first dose March 10 during an in-house clinic at the Main Library, and another clinic this week resulted in 22 more receiving shots.
The one-third slice of library employees who have received shots also includes staffers who attended a local pharmacy for the vaccine on their own, according to Coulter's report.
In his remarks to board members during Thursday's board meeting, which was conducted over Zoom, Coulter suggested that beyond the library's in-house clinics "most of the other people who want to get vaccines have been able to find them."
It was estimated that most of the staff was "well on the way" to receiving one or both doses of the vaccines, Coulter said.
Virus-related social distancing and masking protocols will continue at the library, Coulter said.
"Even though most of us are getting close to being vaccinated, it seems like it's the thing to do," he said.
Earlier this year, the question of whether library employees would be included in one of the first rounds of vaccinations was up in the air, prompting Coulter to reach out to the Arkansas Department of Health.
At the time, he said the library's case was that staffers qualified as essential government workers.
Employees interacted with members of the public on a daily basis as patrons came to libraries to take advantage of services such as photocopying documents or connecting to the internet, Coulter said.
His argument, or arguments like it, apparently won out. Phase 1-B of the state's vaccination plan ultimately included librarians under the category of essential government employees.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson on March 8 announced that all remaining groups included under Phase 1-B would be eligible for shots, and the state has since expanded eligibility to members of Phase 1-C categories.
Coulter told board members Thursday that he reached out to both the governor and the Department of Health to thank them for including library employees in Phase 1-B.
One of the silver linings to the covid-19 pandemic was the increased visibility of library workers "as important parts of the economy, important parts of the community," Coulter said.
Two contracted housekeeping employees tested positive for the virus last week, Coulter wrote in his report, forcing the Main Library in downtown Little Rock to close for several hours to be cleaned.
The library system has 276 full-time and part-time employees, Coulter said in late January.