Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home Public Library is continuing to serve its patrons as well as it can as it prepares for an unusual Summer Reading Program, which will be restricted by the effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The library closed March 12, the day after Linn County residents learned of a positive COVID-19 infection within the county. Schools closed the following Monday, March 16. The governor announced a stay-at-home order on March 23.
“We can’t maintain a six-foot distance,” said Library Director Rose Peda. “What we tried to do that week was to figure out how to provide some library service. We worked on what services we could provide.”
Initially, the library focused a lot on electronic books, Lynda.com and the library’s databases, Peda said. “Then I started hearing from other directors about curbside deliveries.”
Other libraries encouraged patrons to come by when they were out doing essential business, like shopping for groceries or medicine or visiting the Post Office.
“Then I got to thinking about how are we going to deliver these materials and stay six feet away,” Peda said. Library staff came up with the idea of installing a barrier at the north entrance to the library, next to the book return drop.
“Unless you’re a hurdler, we don’t allow people into that area,” Peda said.
When a patron wants a book, they will call and let staff know when they’ve reached the library. A librarian places materials on a cart outside the entrance and then goes back inside as the patron pulls up and collects the items from the cart in a “contactless delivery.”
Materials that are dropped off are collected after patrons leave, and then staffers disinfect the covers of books. Everything is quarantined for three days.
Some patrons are still not comfortable borrowing books, Peda said. E-books remain available for them, and she noted the library’s selection of e-books has increased substantially since it began offering them several years ago.
In person, people like to browse the shelves, Peda said; but with the new arrangement, when patrons finish books, they’re asking for recommendations much more frequently because they cannot browse the shelves.
While continuing to provide books and other materials to patrons, library staff members are preparing a Summer Reading Program that will work at a distance.
“We will be mailing an invitation to parents,” Peda said. The invitation includes a stamped postcard with a form asking whether the family wishes to participate and what age groups are in the household.
Divisions include toddlers, elementary students and tweens, Peda said. Staff members are still working out programming, but they plan to include activities children can do at home, like kitchen science, origami and paper airplanes.
“We want to reach a large audience,” Peda said, noting that not all local children have Internet available at home.
The library has recently upgraded its computers, from Windows 7 machines to Windows 10 machines, and installed a new color copier, Peda said. The project cost $13,000, which includes six computers for use by the public. It was funded by a $5,000 grant from the Siletz tribe and $8,000 in city funds.
When COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, patrons will find new furniture in the library, including seats at the public computers and new furniture in the teen room and children’s area.
The improvements were funded by a no-match $9,743 grant from Trust Management Services.
The library will replace tables in the team room with collapsible tables that may be moved and stored more easily, Peda said. The teen room also will have new shelves to accommodate an expansion in the library’s anime collection.
The children’s area will have adjustable tables.
“We wanted furniture that was flexible and gave us versatility,” Peda said.
To access library services or find out more about the Summer Reading Program, call the library at (541) 367-5007.