Library working on reopening plan
First, I just want to say that we miss you very much. Our staff are looking forward to reopening just to see all of you.
We are thrilled that more and more people are embracing digital versions of the materials they love to borrow from the library. We are continually adding more titles to our existing services and adding more services all the time. For instance, since we closed, we have added ten new digital services, plus two that we currently have on a trial basis (“Weiss Ratings – Financial Ratings Series” and “Press Reader” we will keep them if there is enough patron interest). I suspect that some of you will continue to increase your use of digital options even when we open our physical doors.
As talk of lifting the shelter in place order increases, we are doing all we can to be prepared for reopening. This is uncharted territory for all of us. Planning for the future, even just a week at a time, is challenging. Be assured, though, we are on it. We are examining every facet of our past, current, and future operations to identify areas that need to be addressed.
We are so glad that many of our patrons are able to access digital materials, but many can’t. Even for those who can, we are anxious to offer our full range of services and interact personally with our patrons.
We have begun to add services gradually. A couple of weeks ago, we started opening the drop boxes at the Sandpoint and Clark Fork libraries on Mondays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for returning materials. Opening them for one day a week allows us to let the materials sit for several days before we process them with proper protective gear.
Although drop boxes are open on a limited basis, materials will not be counted as overdue and no fines will be charged. We encourage patrons to return items, however, because they may be on hold for another patron.
Starting this week, we began to offer curbside pick-up service to patrons who had reserved materials prior to the closure. In alphabetical order, we are contacting those patrons, inviting them to safely pick up their materials during specified times Tuesdays through Saturdays. Some items that are on hold have not been returned yet, so this may delay pick-up for those items as they will need to sit for a few days before we can safely circulate them again.
Once the holds shelf has been cleared of the materials held prior to closing, we will allow patrons to start placing holds again. We don’t have a time frame in mind for this yet. It depends on how long it takes to get through the current backlog of reserved materials.
Staff have begun to come in to the library to work, a few people at a time, observing social distancing and wearing protective gear. They are processing materials, cleaning facilities, watering plants, maintaining the landscape, and preparing the garden. We are currently installing Plexiglas shields at the service desks.
We are rolling out a new email service next week. Many of you may have noticed that the monthly emails you used to receive have stopped. Our email platform could no longer sustain the number of subscribers we had and before we could export our subscriber list, it was deleted (it was partly due to my computer crashing at the same time, but that is a long story).
The timing was quite unfortunate as it would have been ideal to stay in direct contact with you via email when we had to close. We are excited to start fresh, though. Of course, anyone can opt out or join at any time once we get it rolling.
As new developments occur, we will keep you posted via this column, our website, social media, and email. You are on our minds and hearts as we wait this out. If you have stopped by to return materials or pick up holds, you may have noticed the hearts decorating the front door at the Sandpoint branch library. Staff are decorating the door with hearts to let you know how much we miss you. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Marcy Timblin is in charge of public relations, marketing & community development for the East Bonner County Library District. She can be reached at 208-208- 208-208-263-6930, ext. 1204LI