Stonington The Stonington Free Library has temporarily closed its building to the public after a staff member tested postitive for COVID-19 on Sunday.
Library Director Micayla Hall said Monday that she immediately contacted the Ledge Light Health District. Contact tracing was done and four staff members who had been in close contact with the infected staff member are now in a 14-day quarantine.
Hall said this leaves just her and two other staff members to run the library.
She said it would have been too difficult to monitor patrons in the two-story building and operate the library with just three staff members so the decison was made to temporarily close the building. The library will continue to provide curbside pickup for patrons.
De Kay, 80, will be replaced by Assistant Director Micayla Hall, 33.
De Kay s departure comes as the library has wrapped up a $1.8 million capital campaign that included the recent completion of an expansion and renovation project that made the library handicapped accessible.
“It seems like a natural time,” De Kay said Wednesday about her retirement. “We’ve worked together all this time and the idea was always Micayla would take over. I think it’s time to launch her. She’s a young, wonderful person and I don t want to stand in her way.”
While De Kay has retired, she will remain the library s director emeritus and plans to continue to work at the library to acquire books and materials for the collection, which she said is her true passion.