National Library Lovers Month sees Hastings Memorial open to the public

Hastings Memorial Library is open to the public again after nearly a year of dealing with coronavirus restrictions. 

Because the library has been mostly operating based on the school’s plans, when schools closed, the library followed. March 16, 2020, the library shut its doors to the public for the first time.

They started their curbside program March 18, where readers were able to call or email requests for books and could pick their order up outside the building.

This impacted the Makerspace program. The program was set to leave Grant April 6, 2020, but the library’s closure cut that short. There was meant to be a showcase where people who participated would be able to show off the projects they had been working on, but that event had to be canceled.

In April, the library started more virtual activities to keep readers, especially young children, engaged and entertained. They held virtual storytime over Facebook, and did curbside crafts where people could pick up activities that went along with the storytimes.

When time for the Summer Reading Program rolled around and conditions were still too unsafe to gather in groups, the library had to find another route to keep the program going.

They decided on Summer Reading in a Box, where youth would pick up boxes for the months of June and July full of crafts and activities related to the year’s theme, “Imagine Your Story.”

Library director Robin Quinn said at the time that she hoped the program would bring back some normalcy for the kids, and that it would encourage them to keep reading.

On August 19, the library opened up to the public for the first time since March. With lots of cleaning and social distancing, they were able to keep the library open with limited hours... until the pandemic hit Perkins County.

Mid-November, the COVID risk dial moved to “red,” and it was announced that Hastings Memorial Library’s doors would have to close to the public once more.

While the doors were closed, library staff cleaned and rearranged the library, and continued to provide curbside checkout.

The library spent a total of 23 weeks closed during 2020, which adds up to just under half the year.

Back to normal... almost

January 4, Hastings Memorial was able to once again open its doors to the public and have been allowing patrons to enter the building ever since.

Quinn says masks are required, as well as use of hand sanitizer and social distancing. The library has masks and hand sanitizer for those who might not have their own.

In fact, when the library received CARES Act funds, they were hoping to purchase touchless soap and paper towel dispensers for the bathrooms. Due to high demand on those products, they have not been able to acquire them yet.

They have, however, procured a touchless hand sanitizer stand, rather than having to use bottles of hand sanitizer each librarygoer would have to handle.

The library’s current hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.; closed Fridays, curbside checkout only; Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon.

Quinn said they hope to be open to the public again on Fridays starting in March.

She also noted they have many plans for the coming year, if COVID restrictions allow for gatherings.

At the moment, they are still holding distance programming, such as their “Read About...” backpack program. Each backpack includes 12 books on a specific topic, such as farming or colors, and are sent home with participants.

One idea Quinn suggested for the future was outdoor programming once the weather warms up, particularly using what Quinn calls “pod programming,” where people would be split into smaller groups.

Quinn also hopes they will be able to hold some sort of in-person Summer Reading Program this year, and hopes at some point they can bring back the after school program.

“When you think about libraries, you think about this community hub where people go to get together, do storytimes, programming, pick up books, use the computers and learn things,” she said.

“It’s a community gathering place. So then what does the community gathering place do when you’re not supposed to gather?” Quinn continued. “It’s been challenging for us to still provide the services our community wants and needs while trying to keep everyone safe.”

Despite the closures and cancellations surrounding the library, curbside checkout programs and e-books have helped keep readership at Hastings Memorial Library nearly the same as it was in 2019.

In 2019, 6,646 adult materials in-house were checked out, and this year 7,116 adult materials were checked out from the library, an increase of 470 books.

Online adult materials were checked out at an even greater rate this year. In 2019, 7,783 adult materials were downloaded, and in 2020 that number increased to 10,422. This means 2,639 more e-books were downloaded in 2020.

Children’s material checkouts, on the other hand, declined from 2019 to 2020.

In 2019, 11,174 physical copies of children’s books were checked out, compared to just 6,595 in 2020.

Quinn suggested this is in part due to the fact that kids often would come in to browse books after school or in the summertime, but they were unable to do so for much of 2020.

Online checkouts for youth materials, however, increased in 2020. 2,570 children’s books were downloaded in 2019, compared to 3,465 in 2020.

In total, the library’s circulation was 28,173 in 2019, and in 2020 it was 27,598, meaning there was only a 575 book decrease in checkouts, despite being closed for much of the year.