Libraries have been really stepping up their community game during the pandemic

Libraries have been really stepping up their community game during the pandemic (and natural disasters too).

Here’s the short list I’ve been observing and collecting:

1. Contactless curbside holds pick-up
2. Sources of quality information for online and telephone questions.
3. Town halls for difficult discussions with public health experts
4. Programs including social and educational support
5. Calling all senior cardholders for wellness checks
6. Serving on the municipal EOT – Emergency Operations Team
7. Serving as vaccination sites (often in joint facilities with community and recreation centres)
8. Being a trusted place to go (full PPE and protocols)
9. Offering and doing online research and coaching appointments to bridge the digital divide
10. Spreading out the PCs and allowing internet access for 1/2-hour appointments that meet protocols and allow for health, doctor visits, and appointment bookings
11. Sometimes doing the PC appointments for health and vaccinations to bridge the digital divide.
12. Parking Lot & Grounds Wi-Fi
13. Bookmobile travelling Wi-Fi stop sites
14. Lending laptops, tablets and hotspots
15. Using makerspaces to produce PPE
16. Serving as a food bank
17. Building inclusion strategies for targeted groups at higher risk or (sometimes) higher vaccine hesitancy (homeless, seniors, BIPOC, Indigenous, etc.) Ensuring your library’s visuals represent your community’s diversity.
18. Promoting broader pandemic content beyond articles, news and books – streaming video, podcasts, etc.
19. Partnering formally for outreach with public health, local hospitals, social and mental health agencies, seniors’ residences, food banks, etc. Our cardholder e-mail lists are an asset and we are a trusted source/institution.
20. Ensuring that staff are trained, safe, and open-minded.