So much has changed at our library in the past year. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged all of us beyond what we could have ever imagined, and it will continue to impact the library and our community, for years to come.
We began this unforeseen journey in March of 2020 with what at the time for us appeared to be a two-week library closure. We soon realized the road ahead was headed in an unchartered direction as our best-made plans took a serious turn off course. And at worst, some of us faced or suffered personal challenges and losses in our lives and families that will affect us forever. We became more agile than ever, and we accelerated service and technology changes at the library at an unprecedented rate. We developed innovative ways to deliver services to our community, keep our items circulating and programs going. This was no easy task given the difficulties COVID presented for all of us at work and at home.
I want to share with you our library’s accomplishments in the last year:
Staff and customer safety was a priority.
- Within days of the closure, followed by Illinois’ Stay at Home Order, we transitioned to Office 365, the online office suite, and distributed equipment and setup access for remote work options for staff and kept our supply chain moving.
- We reimagined our spaces and ways to make them safer in anticipation of reopening the building, with a dedicated and monitored entry and exit and over 200 directional signs, additional cleaning supplies and protective equipment for our staff.
- When hand sanitizer was almost impossible to find, we tracked down a 55-gallon drum of hand sanitizer from a Chicago distillery and hand-filled individual bottles for each staff member along with masks.
- We increased cleaning and disinfection throughout the library and improved air flow and filtration.
- Our human resources team provided guidance, resources, and support to staff as they navigated the challenges of their jobs and balancing work and family life during a pandemic.
We kept in touch and provided important information.
- We built new communication channels for our employees and customers, including the Stay Informed web page and a Bringing the Library to You version of our newsletter.
- We stayed connected with our community through chat, phone and email and created informational pages on the website about financial assistance, technology, vaccine and career resources.
We delivered services in new ways.
- We created a curbside pickup system in late May, with the highest use in one day at 543 cars, averaging over 91 cars an hour and ramped up drive-through window and bookmobile service to deliver record numbers of customer holds.
- We pivoted to virtual programming and presented our first YouTube virtual program just 10 days after closing. We moved our One Book, One Village author event to the virtual stage and reached our highest level of attendance in the event’s history.
- Our English as a Second Language services also transitioned to virtual tutoring, which proved to be extremely popular and accessible. We also took the opportunity to move the ESL office to the first floor while the library was closed. Its new location is accessible and easy to find.
- We introduced seniors to Zoom, virtual and phone programming, providing individual instruction when needed to help them make connections during the isolation of the pandemic.
- We created new ways to connect and serve teachers, students and parents, providing help as students learned from home.
- We implemented an online library card sign-up, providing instant access to digital materials.
- We added capacity for our eBook, eAudiobook, magazine, movie and music products that helped digital circulation grow over 65% from last year.
- We created a walk-up service point for customers on foot or bike during the building closure and assembled over 14,000 activity kits strung on a clothesline for customers to take home.
- We installed our own tech stop center in our parking garage vestibule, making printing, faxing, scanning, copying, and computer use available during the closure.
We continued to focus on the future.
- Lastly, we continued to make progress with plans for building our makerspace, opening this summer, knowing that the resources it will provide will help small businesses and entrepreneurs rebuild or create new businesses.
Right now, we're evaluating which service trends of the past year are indicators for future opportunities. COVID-19 taught us we can’t always do what we’ve always done. We are energized to take the best of what we’ve learned and developed during this time and continue to adapt our services, find future opportunities and be a model for innovation in serving our community. I hope you’ll follow along on our website and social media channels to learn more about the transformation and innovations to come.
In closing, I am so proud of our extraordinary library team and the accomplishments of the past year. As always, we remain grateful to our community for your support and enthusiasm about our library.
If you haven’t visited the library lately, we hope you’ll visit soon.
Mike Driskell
Executive Director