By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Linda Canterbury missed her library books.
“I’m old-fashioned. I just want a book in my hands. I don’t want it electronically,” she said.
Canterbury was parked outside the back door of the Wood County District Public Library Tuesday waiting for books that have been waiting for her since the library closed its doors to the public eight weeks ago.
She understands the concerns for the employees and public that led to the library trustees to vote on March 21 to close. “But I sure did miss them.”
Tuesday as the second day the library has been offering curbside pickup. Books that have been put on hold can now be picked up, as well as books patrons request from the library’s collection.
Canterbury was not alone. On Monday the library served about 100 patrons who checked out about 500 items between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.. “It was far more successful than I dared hope,” said Library Director Michael Penrod. In Walbridge 25 patrons checked out about 80 items.
Penrod said he’d heard from other library directors that they were getting four or five patrons.
Circulation Supervisor Rick Russell said Tuesday was a less hectic, but was shaping up to be comparable to Monday. That indicates patrons will be using the service daily, he said.
That’s certainly fewer items than would normally circulate, but the staff is working with a new system devised by Russell and Assistant Director Michele Raine.
The books on hold had been all shelved behind the circulation desk. Now the atrium where the magazines has been transformed into a hold area.
Penrod said that gives staff enough room to maintain social distancing. The circulation desk was designed to have five people working shoulder to shoulder. “That isn’t safe,” Penrod said.
Preparing for this required moving of telephones, computers, and scanners, and that means moving cables and telephone lines.
Russell said he wasn’t sure how the first day would play out. It was busy but “less than we feared,” he said. “If all those people we have holds for decided to pick them up on the same day, it would have been a nightmare.”
That did not happen. People from other departments, including Penrod pitched in. The director was shelving books and worked at the circulation desk.
“It’s a team effort. We pulled it off,” Russell said.
Those wanting to borrow materials should call 419-352-5050. Hours for pick-up service in Bowling Green are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.
When they arrive to pick them up, they call the number on the sign on the curb. A library staff member will bring their materials, place them on a table, and return to the library. Then the patrons can exit their cars and retrieve the bags. Once items are returned they sit in quarantine for four days before they are checked back in and shelved.
The courier service that carries materials among libraries will not resume service until 85 percent of Ohio’s libraries are open. So, until then only books now in the library are available to borrow.
“Thankfully we have a large robust collection that should serve us for a while,” Penrod said.
“What we’re doing yesterday and today is a million times better than just digital,” the director said. “And what the staff has done with digital is just amazing.”
That’s included using the 3D printers to make parts for PPE face guards produced by Dana Corp. Those were then delivered to medical personnel.
Penrod was impressed watching Children’s Librarian Maria Simon do a Facebook story time about dinosaurs. “The quality of digital product this team has pulled together has made this librarian’s heart happy,” he said.
Raine spoke Matt Mehling, the supervisor of the Walbridge branch, to ask what the response was up there. “Oh, the excitement,” he responded.
“People are thrilled to reconnect with us,” Raine said.
One patron wanted to hug Russell when he placed her books outside for her to pick up. That’s not possible now.
Penrod said he expects maybe the library will be open to patrons “mid-summer.”
There’s still a lot of work to do, he said.
The building still needs work including the installation of plexiglass sneeze guards, moving furniture, and the purchase of more disinfectant. “There’s just a lot to do,” he said.
Meantime Canterbury and others are happy to at least have access to their books. She and her husband, both retired and both avid readers, have been doing puzzles and reading whatever they can get their hands on.
That’s meant buying books when they go grocery shopping. Canterbury made a point to buy hard cover volumes because after she’s read them, she intends to donate them to the library.
