By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
A year and a day after the Wood County District Public Library voted to close because of the coronavirus pandemic, it spent its monthly meeting discussing how it could expand its services.
Back on March 14, 2020, the board voted to close for three weeks. The library didn’t reopen for limited hours for almost four months.
Now as cases continue to decline, the trustees are considering when to open up for more than the 33 hours a week when patrons can visit.
Library Director Michael Penrod said his recommendation is that the library not expand hours and services until six weeks after all staff members are eligible to get vaccinated. That would be June 15. (He also reported that he is not allowed to ask staff if they have been vaccinated.)
Though no vote was taken, the trustees expressed agreement.
Board President Brian Paskvan said he is getting asked about when the hours, including on Sunday, will be reinstated.
Penrod said he wanted to take a conservative approach. The library is obligated to make sure its employees as well as its patrons are safe.
He indicated that as library hours expand , the library will be adding staff.
Still, he said, the summer reading program will not revert to usual. The library is not ready to have 60 kids packed into a room.
It’s possible, he said, that story times could, as a first step, move into the atrium for limited number of attendees, who would have to sign up in advance.
Outside activities will be part of the reading program.
Deputy Director Michele Raine reported that last year when many libraries were canceling their summer reading programs, WCDPL created an online program that included adventure quests, and had the library’s volunteens completing community service missions.
Raine gave a full report on how the staff innovated to continue to serve the public even during the constraints imposed by the pandemic. Within two weeks of the library closing Youth Services Librarian Maria Simon launched the Bear Hug activity. Children’s Place staff urged people to put pictures of bears – some were available on the library’s website that could be colored – in their windows, as a show of solidarity.
“There were bears everywhere,” Raine said. “I know it lifted my spirits as I was walking through my neighborhood. … It was something we could do together.”
As the year progressed, the library added services – ukulele lessons with Jason and Sheri Wells-Jensen, Facebook story times, virtual author visits, curbside pickup, book bundles, and brief music performances by university students.
These sometimes required staff to learn new skills.
Penrod said that the library had wanted to do online story times, but didn’t have the time before to figure out how to do it. With library staff working from home, they had the time and motivation to launch the service. And then adapt it, keeping the sessions “fun-sized,” Raine said, because of concerns about how much time children were spending in front of a screen because of remote schooling.
The pandemic has changed how the library operates, Paskvan said.
Curbside pickup has been popular, and not just for health reasons, Penrod said. It allows a mother to stop by and pick up 40 books for her four kids without leaving the car.
The book bundles where staff puts together materials that aligns with the patron’s interest have been popular, Paskvan said.
Author visits on Facebook live and digital story times will continue to have a place on the schedule.
The library has also worked closely with the Bowling Green, Northwood and Lake schools sharing information on digital resources, Penrod said. “We’ll continue to pursue any opportunities for partnerships with the schools.”
