Scapi: CPL employees ask patrons to not come to open library

Last weekend Scapi Magazine ran an article in which it quotes an anonymous Chicago Public Library employee imploring patrons not to come into the library when it reopens.

The plea comes in the form of an unsigned letter circulating on social media (the employee has withheld their name fearing retaliation from management) that states safety concerns are being brushed off, hand sanitizer in the libraries is expired, and the libraries lack enough plexiglass to run the library safely.

This letter comes after previous statements by AFSCME Local 31 in which the union said it had not been consulted in reopening considerations and was caught off guard when Library Commissioner Andrea Telli emailed staff earlier in the month asking them to report to work May 20th.

While Mayor Lauri Lightfoot initially seemed to backtrack on a proposed June 1st reopening after details of Telli's email leaked, Illinois and Cook County are preparing to enter phase 3 of reopening even as the county is seeing one of the largest outbreaks of COVID-19 in the country -- surpassing even Queens in New York City.

Tribune: Lightfoot contradicts CPL statement, Union responds

Following coverage by Book Riot last week on an email sent to Chicago Public Library employees setting a June 1st reopenning date, Lori Lightfoot, the city's mayor, disputed that any timeline had yet been established for reopenning the library.

The Chicago Tribune has both Lightfoot's response to concerns about the library's reopening as well as a response from AFSCME Local 31, which represents the city's municipal workers.