As employees of Hillsborough County government, all library staff play a vital part in disaster preparedness, response and recovery and assist in the support of essential public services required for health, safety and quality of life. Employees are trained in designated roles and may be called upon to serve community needs before, during and after an emergency. The sudden and unprecedented COVID-19 state of emergency required staff to take on challenging new responsibilities with minimal preparation or training.

Beginning March 23, 2020, library staff were called upon to purchase, inventory and distribute emergency supplies throughout Hillsborough County. As COVID-19 testing sites began to open, more staff reported to the Emergency Operations Center to schedule appointments in the call center and assist with food services. By July 2020, 135 of the library’s 363 staff had been activated, most serving at outdoor testing sites. Other new duties included overnight shifts at quarantine hotels and COVID data tracking and reporting.

Hundreds of activated library employees worked diligently with local and state agencies and frontline medical staff to assist with customer intake, supply management and data tracking. Between June 16 and September 16, 2020, 94 library staff provided 37,000 hours of service at the Raymond James Stadium COVID-19 testing site in Tampa, the single largest mobilization in support of the county’s mitigation plan. The deputy county administrator called this “a critical part of our successful (thus far) response to COVID.”