Policy on Weather Closing

• Under most conditions, the library will open and remain open according to its regular schedule.
• The library will close whenever a weather emergency is declared by government officials and people are asked to stay off the streets and highways. Whenever the library will not open or will close early due to weather conditions, local radio and television stations will be called; when feasible, people scheduled to use the meeting room will be contacted and a special message will be recorded on the library's phone recording.
• When the weather becomes particularly hazardous during a workday, the CEO or librarian-in-charge may decide to tell some staff to go home as a safety precaution. This decision should be made, if possible, before 4:00 p.m. to allow staff living outside Greenfield to arrive home before dark. In this event, the library will operate with a skeleton staff of at least two people. At no time should one person be left alone to keep the library open. Staff who come to work and are told they can go home early will be paid as though they worked their full schedule.
• A staff member who makes a personal decision to either not come in to work or to leave early due to weather will not be paid for the time.
• Obviously, it is preferable to send home those staff members who live the farthest from the library. This is a question of the safety and welfare of the staff, not one of fairness. Staff who live nearest to the facility will usually be the ones who stay and keep the building open.

Back to Policies and Procedures