After closing their doors to the public in mid-March because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Southport Public Library in Indianapolis and the Greenwood Public Library started to allow patrons back in their buildings this summer.
Employees sit at the help desk with a space between them. There is plexiglass separating them from the patrons and a sign stating that business phone use is not available due to COVID-19. Photo by Tabby Fitzgerald, TheStatehouseFile.com
Both libraries are doing what they can to promote safety against COVID-19, such as by requiring masks, having less seating available, quarantining books, and cleaning. But having to first close the library for a couple of months was hard for those who work there.
"It was heartbreaking to close," Greenwood Public Library Branch Manager Cheryl Dobbs said. "It all happened in a very short amount of time from, we're going to cancel public programs to we just kept dialing it back dialing it back and then when it became clear that we needed to close, it just seemed like an impossible circumstance to have to shut out the lights and walk away."
While closed, patrons were unable to walk through the buildings and get the true library experience -studying in one of the comfortable chairs, using a computer for research, and interacting with the librarians eager to help them find their next book.
Southport Library started to offer a new service during those months: Curbside. While the library was closed for walk-in services, workers said they received up to 100 calls per day for curbside services. Since reopening, the need for curbside has dropped, but it's still available and a program that is going to continue for the foreseeable future.
"We do have a few curbside requests every single day," Branch Manager Fiona Duke said. "Sometimes for parents with young children, it's just easier to just come and pick it up. For others, that's because of safety and health reasons."
Greenwood Public Library also started offering curbside service. Dobbs said providing this service was something the branch had already planned on doing this year, but it happened sooner than planned due to the pandemic.
When a patron goes to use a computer at the Greenwood Public Library, they will find that all of the computers are no longer there, and the ones that are will be socially distanced. If a patron needs help with something, they will have to give the librarian remote access to the computer so they can help them.
After using the computer, the keyboard and mouse are replaced with a new set for the next visitor while the other set is cleaned.
"There are fewer computers in the lab at the moment so that we can more safely social distance, both for our staff and for the patrons who are sitting at their computers," said Emily, Greenwood's assistant director. Ellis said.
Both libraries are also quarantining returned materials. When a book is returned through the indoor or outdoor book drop, it goes through an automatic sorter, which feeds the books onto a belt before dropping them into a bin.
After being placed in the bin, an employee pushes a pile of books to rooms that have been converted into book holding areas. The books will sit in that room for 72 hours at Southport Public Library and 24 hours at Greenwood Public Library before they are placed back on the shelves and available for check out due to current guidelines.
The reason for the difference in hours is because guidelines have been updated from their original 72 hours to now only 24. Dobbs said the Greenwood Public Library learned about this from Reopening Archives, Libraries and Museums, or REALM, a project designed to help libraries reopen during the pandemic. A study by REALM clarified the virus is detectable on plastic surfaces like dust jackets - but not live -after 12 to 24 hours.
Neither library is currently imposing late fines due to the pandemic and their time closed so that patrons don't have to worry about turning in a book at the last minute and it not showing up on their account until after the book has gone through quarantine
Several patrons have mentioned how much they missed being able to go to the library and are glad that they are able to now, Duke said.
"People appreciate that they can come in," Duke said. "I know just the other day someone came back for her first time and she just kept saying hallelujah."
Not everything about the library is as it was before. Besides social distancing and requiring masks, the Southport Public library is also hosting all summer events online, including the annual summer reading program.
Traditionally, the way the summer reading program worked is that a person would read a book, bring it in and earn points to spend on various prizes. Now, participants download an app and log their own minutes or come into the library and ask an employee to do it for them. For the first time, non-library books count towards points as well.
By doing this, the program is more touch-free. Participants can then come to the library and pick out their prize or receive their prize via curbside.
The Greenwood Public Library is also hosting virtual events this year as well and plans to do so until at least the end of the year, Dobbs said. Since they have a makerspace with a studio and video equipment, they have been able host virtual story times and events across different social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook Live.
Library leaders were already considering going virtual with the how they would track points for the summer reading program this year, so the timing of COVID-19 worked out in their favor.
"That's gone really smoothly," Duke said. "I think doing things virtually this year the timing was perfect considering the circumstances that we were going to go virtual."