Scenic Regional Library’s Board of Trustees on Nov. 17 voted unanimously, 13-0, requiring all patrons to wear face masks in their facilities.

The new policy went into effect on Friday, Nov. 20, according to Steven W. Campbell, director of the library system.

The decision was based on staff input, dramatically-rising new COVID cases, and soaring positive testing rate in the area. The library will offer a disposable face mask to patrons without one.

The library recently conducted a staff survey and 74 percent of front-line employees responded that they would like to see the library require face masks and were willing to enforce the new policy. When the same survey was conducted in August, only 50 pecent of the staff wanted the library to require the public to wear masks at the time, according to a release from Campbell.

Since reopening in June, the library strongly encouraged patrons to wear masks in its buildings to protect staff and other visitors. However, only about half of library patrons have been wearing masks.

Many public libraries and national retail chains in the state have been implementing mask requirements to protect their front-line employees and other customers. The Washington Public Library has required visitors to wear face masks since June. The Owensville and Hermann libraries are part of the tax-supported system,