Folks:

A little better all the time. It can’t get no worse, right?

At this place, we are; one week later.

“Joe, issue us a progress report.” Progress? There’s been a bit. Check me out on the good side here.

On Monday, the Governor announced that libraries could welcome people into buildings to browse the collections. At first, blush, that sounds exceedingly nice; however, I don’t think we will open before August 1. I know that one stung. But, let me tell you a few things that need to happen before we can welcome you back in.

1. We have to draft a plan. The plan must figure out, among other things a way to encourage people to remain six feet apart [more like ensure] while occupying the building, and;
2. This plan needs to be endorsed by the Board of Health, and;
3. We have to buy and have installed plexiglass for three desks. One of which is a funky shape, and;
4. We have to move a boatload of furniture, and;
5. We have to prepare the building with signage and tape. Not to hang the signs but to affix red tape to the floor to route people through the building.

Sounds pretty easy, right? Don’t be fooled; this is tough stuff. I will not go into all the details, but here is the reader’s digest version. Yours is one of the largest libraries in the Commonwealth when looking at its total square feet of space per resident. Even if you only consider its nominal size, it is still one of the vastest libraries by any measure in the Commonwealth serving populations less than 15,000. To put it concisely, this is a big building.

Second, although this staff is fantastic and one that only ever swings above its weight, it’s relatively small when you consider how large the building is. In the non-COVID-19 days, this was not too much of a problem. We could make things work with sometimes as few as three people in the building.

Also, work is more intensive for staff now. Things that took a couple of minutes to complete now take more than a quarter of an hour. There are few work efficiencies we enjoy now as we did in the good ole non-COVID-19 days. I know it sounds strange since it seems like we are closed, but in a genuine sense, we aren’t.

Virtual services are ongoing.

Providing a virtual storytime takes more time since my Youth Librarian is presently her own video production assistant. Everyone has to acquire new skills so that, for instance, the Adult Librarian can provide online book discussions. Have you navigated the website recently? A team of staff and volunteers gave it a fresh coat of paint. Did you hear we are on twitter? Yeah, I know I just found out too. That came from the newly formed social media committee.

I could go on but grant me leave with one more example, as of today there are more than 500 requests for books, DVDs and CDs waiting for us to prepare and mail to you. That is so cool that I can’t begin to tell you. As happy as that makes us all feel, it is, however, much harder to prepare things for delivery than it was to prepare them for you to pick up at the Library.

The takeaway. Everyone over here is in constant motion, and on top of that, we are putting pen to paper and earnestly crafting plans to get you back into the building.

You may be thinking, “Come on, Joe, give me a break. What can you do for me in the short run?”

Well, here’s one break coming up. Curbside services will likely start the week of June 22. That is another leap in the promising direction and, we will continue to provide books by mail until we have curbside service down pat. More on this next week, but all signs are that it’s happening people.

Finally, thank you. Thank you to all the well-wishers who have forwarded us emails, left us messages on our phones, and heck someone even mailed us a card with comments appreciating our efforts. We enjoy what we do and get considerable satisfaction, knowing we provide you all with a bit of fun in these difficult times.

To a person, everyone who works at your Library loves what they do for you.

Without love, where would you be now?

That’s another in the books. Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you next week.

~ joe​