Book Syrup

The phone rang at the circulation desk, echoing through the quiet, empty space. There were only three of us in the library, as our team had been broken up into separate groups to prevent the potential risk of COVID-19 spreading among employees. Our cohort was working to get holds organized, bagged, and ready for curbside pick up. Expecting a quick exchange from a patron who was letting me know they were outside the building, instead I spent 35 minutes on the phone with a housebound man who hadn’t spoken to another person in weeks. Our conversation gave him a connection to the outside world, and I enjoyed listening as he began as reserved but evolved into an impassioned, opinionated individual confident in his knowledge. As Ciara Eastell stated, “People trust libraries, and they trust those of us who work in them” (TEDx, 2019, 6:11).

People who work in libraries care about the populations they serve. Continuing to reach them no matter the challenges—pandemic or not—is part of our goal as a hyperlinked community. Many of the examples that Stephens (2014) gave of ways to be present for users spoke to things we are doing in the Nevada County Community Library system. We have a monthly book club, Wine & Read, that in safer times met to discuss books at a local wine bar. The Youth Services team rebranded Summer Reading a few years ago to the Summer Learning Program (SLP), focusing on more than reading by incorporating STEAM programs, community partnerships, and allowing all ages to participate. Adults love getting to be a part of SLP. One of our smaller branches is the pilot for our county’s Open+ Access program, allowing patrons to browse the shelves, hang out, and check out items even when staff is not present. I plan to continue to offer virtual programming even after things have returned to a more normal way of being, as I have found people who had not had the opportunity to interact with the library before now feel a connection through our online platforms. Finally, I get to watch our teen community connecting each Friday through the D&D at the Library program I created, in person in the library’s backyard (all teens are masked) as well as virtually on the library’s Discord server.

Sometimes, people need to be reminded of how integral the library is to their community, as evidenced by the campaign to save the Troy Library (Burnett, 2011), but I am hoping that if our system continues to strive to connect with patrons through as many avenues as possible, our community will remember just how important their public libraries are to their well-being and township health. We would love to have the ability for the library to continue to be part of their daily lives.

Resources

Burnett, L. (2011, November 15). Save the Troy Library “Adventures in reverse psychology” [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/nw3zNNO5gX0

Stephens, M. (2014). The heart of librarianship: Attentive, positive, and purposeful change. ALA Editions.

TEDx. (2019, June 13). How libraries change lives | Ciara Eastell [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Tvt-lHZBUwU