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By the wonderful Grace Farris.
P.S. Reading styles and reading positions.
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Right now my mom stop talking to me and stay out of my room. Stay out of my room and mind her own business.
I miss wandering the aisles of the Library knowing my kids are safe on the other side of the shelf. There is something magically about browsing book titles while still being able to see my littles through the gaps doing the same thing !
Our library has curbside pick-up too. But I discovered their only pandemic practice aside from a disinfectant swipe is to let books “rest” for 5 days between checkouts. All the book jackets are plastic and covid is said to love plastic and live there happily for 3 weeks!
So I mist them inside and out and all the paper edges with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol and let the books sit standing up with the pages fanned out for 3 weeks. At any given time there are at least 6 books sitting for their 3 week “cure”, and a long list of titles on order at the library, so I am well stocked with excellent reads for the winter to come.
Currently reading, “The Boys in the Boat”; about how the University of Washington’s crew team won the Berlin Olympics during Hitlers reign, against all odds. It is excellent so far.
My childhood branch of my city library closed when I was about 20 when they built a larger brand new one a few blocks away. I was sad and nostalgic but then the best possible thing happened- a delicious bakery moved in to the old space. Now I can still hang out and read under that goofy red roof but I don’t get in trouble for sneaking snacks. Shout out to the Hollywood branch library in PDX!
I worked under that “goofy red roof” in 1979. It was a great experience and I loved it.
Our library in Corvallis, OR has been amazing through the pandemic. The deliver books to our front door!! My girls are in a library book club and get a free book with activities each month. There is a phone number we can call to listen to a recorded librarian reading a kids story 24 hours a day! There are daily Facebook live readings. We can check out a telescope, a guitar, thousands of CDs and of course eBooks. There are resources for teens working through anxiety and depression. It is truly inspiring to see the many ways they are keeping folks engaged in our community. It is such a special place and I can’t wait to get back in the building one of these days.
Wow! Very impressed with OR support for literacy and literate citizens!!!
As a grad student and recent graduate from university, I lived in the library. I relied on my local library as well as university libraries along with local small coffee shops to keep me focused while working on assignments and reading. I miss the environment they provided me with, finding the perfect spot off to the side near an outlet to just unwind and power through what needed to be done, it was something about the thought of people watching me made me work harder as if, if I stopped they would judge me or tell my professor. I loved simply the joy from walking through the isles of books and picking on one at random, and it being free to take a book out I never felt regret if the book was not up to par. With the pandemic, my alma mater does not allow people in the library, those without permission and my local library does not even allow for people to walk through simply just online pick up and drop off. I fully understand these changes and am thankful that they care about their guests however I can’t wait to be there when they re-open!
Our libraries here in Richmond, Virginia have done a remarkable job of transitioning to remote operations – they’ve boosted their online services and e-book offerings and built a curb-side check out process for physical materials. We have been mostly utilizing e-readers since the pandemic began (for convenience largely), but I miss leisurely browsing the aisles with my school age children for “the one!” and asking our librarians for recommendations. There’s a calming feeling that washes over me when we walk into the library and you just can’t recreate that feeling online :)
We are so grateful for our librarians and encourage any who feel the same to seek ways to donate to their local library as many are facing funding shortages during the pandemic.
I still use the library during COVID.
Flipster allows me, using my library code number, to view hundreds of magazines in their digital version for free! Download the app and work with your library reception desk to get in. Also, I use all the digital versions of books for my Kindle or audio on the Libby app which is also a library app. Saves money, times and is environmentally friendly! Then I log my books onto my Goodreads account to keep track of all my reading and follow other voracious readers for recommendations. It is really easy!
I’m in the U.K. here, and it was such a relief when the library reopened after lockdown 1 (though I had the excuse that I couldn’t get books from the library, so I had to buy a lot. Oh well).
Just ahead of lockdown 2, it was me and the over 80s there everyday, making sure we had enough books to get us through these four weeks. They are doing click and collect and offering computer access to people who don’t have a computer at home. At least there is still something this time around
I got my first library card at age three and for years our mom took us twice a week. Even when she was in the terrible black hole of vascular dementia my sister and I would take her to the library and she would check out a book or two. She could no longer read but she would pat the book and smile. All the librarians knew her well and it was the one place in her life left that was normal. Until covid my sister and I still went for, ‘coffee and library’ weekly.
It is number one on our post vaccine list! I am going to head right over to New Mystery open one and inhale. Then I am going to go hug a librarian. Ha
I miss reading a huge stack of magazines for a few hours. The libraries have so many to choose from, it’s amazing.
Love this!! When my local library re-opened to the public mid-summer I flew through the children’s section like a tornado, sweeping up piles of books for my daughter. I am not kidding, it was like Christmas morning when I returned home and she saw the haul.
One of my top favorite things is going to the library and getting a pile of books and coming home, having tea and picking up each book and anticipating how much I will love reading it. I have been having these moments since I was 11 and went to the bookmobile once a week, I would get the maximum number of books (as many about horses as possible) and go home to be with my books. I love that I love this about myself. Joy.
I thought I was the only one who had this little ritual!
Oh Cherie my son (7) is just like you and I love that about him! He’s got his own library card now, probably his most treasured belonging.
Libraries (and bookstores) give me the urge to poop after like 5 minutes inside. Anybody else?
Um, yes! I feel SEEN. That musky smell always gets to me.
All these years I thought I was the only one!
I’d give anything to sit in a carol and have quiet, uninterrupted time to get my homework done. Then treat myself to half hour looking at all the new non-fiction titles. (And it’s that time of year when I read Fellowship of the Ring, I need to borrow the beaten up copy that scores of other admirers have surely read lovingly.)
In March/April our libraries boosted their WiFi so people could sit in the parking lot in their cars and still access the internet (if they had a laptop or phone) and it was one of those things that when I heard about it, I burst into tears. Still there for us even when we can’t be there.
do you live in south florida too? they’ve done that here and also designated some parking spots as wifi spots. i was also moved to tears when i was telling someone about it. with this simple move they’ve stripped away the stigma of “stealing internet” to just “using it from outside”. the libraries here have even extended their hours to be more accessible.
Children’s librarian here. My heart is filled reading all of these comments. I love books but it truly is the families that I miss so much! I miss seeing my story time regulars grow-up before my eyes. I look forward to my weekly online programming (story times, baking, crafternoons,etc.) as it’s the one way that I still feel connected to youth. They are so eager to share and be a part of new type of community. It’s definitely not the same but it’s still heartwarming.
Thank you for all of your support. We miss you just as much as you miss us.
OMG all of those I feel. Viscerally.
I feel like if I could be in a library. Smelling musty worn book smell. Surrounded by (currently medically vulnerable, hopefully soon vaccinated) retirees, like my Mom, chatting and volunteering.
We would finally be back to a hitherto unappreciated “normal.”
My daughter is a librarian, my grad student son works in two campus libraries, and I volunteered in school libraries for many, many years, so libraries are very important to our family. I miss browsing in our library, but am so grateful for curbside pick up!
Oh libraries!!!!! I miss you so much! Getting home with an armful of books, so excited to curl up and explore! The thrill of walking around the library and seeing all the endless possibilities to learn and expand one’s own little existence. Oh, even the inevitable and dreaded late fines! …yes, I am that nostalgic for the libraries. Lol!
I love this! I am sorry that your libraries are not open yet. I live in a medium, midwestern town that is being ravaged by covid right now. We are lucky to have an extremely excellent, dynamic, and forward-thinking library- better than we could imagine in our size of town. It was closed for a while and then did curbside pick-up. Then, it opened! They have many rules in place and ways to keep safe. I also think they opened because it is cold here and is a warm place for people who are homeless. They have done so many virtual and safe activities- a drive in movie night where they showed a spooky documentary- virtual trivia tonight. Those librarians are angels.
Aw! I miss our public library too, and all the staff! Our library started curbside pick up, which has been amazing for my kid and me! I also love Libby for audiobooks for free, thanks to the library.
I am a librarian at a university, but my heart really lives in public libraries.
Keep voting for your libraries! xo
I miss our libraries here in Seattle so much! I used to stop in on my way home from work to pick up a book on hold or browse the Peak Picks list. I believe we still have pickup available here, but I’ve been sticking to ebooks from the library and ordering physical books online from a local bookstore. I can’t imagine how parents and children are coping without libraries.
Fellow Seattlite here…ME TOO, Sofie. Curbside pickup just isn’t the same. I loved ducking into the library to see what new titles were available in Peak Picks. I used to stop at the Montlake branch all the time because it was on my bus route. I remember earlier this year, before COVID, I went nearly every day to stalk the shelves and see if someone had returned Such a Fun Age yet. Lol!
I live in a very small town, of which, I am not originally from. Plus, I am likely the only thirty-year-old who uses the library weekly, so I standout like a sore thumb. I joke with my husband that my librarian knows me better than he does! She sees every book I check out, every interest that I have ever had while living here: landscaping, marriage, parenting, self-help, alcoholism, tourism. It is like someone reading your internet browsing history! At first it was a little unnerving because she was like, “Oh, are you gardening?!?” But now, it’s more like I walk in say “Oh my god, Betty, my mom has breast cancer” one week and then the next there is a book in my stack that I never even put on hold, but she put there for me. <3
My friend works in the library and she loves doing the job of stacking everyone’s “holds”- these are books you can reserve and they hold them for you. It feels like she can see my secret heart!
YES! I miss our public library! We have reserved books, and the librarians and volunteers have kept our entire family reading through this period. But, I do miss sitting my the fireplace, looking out the window and flipping through whatever treasure caught my eye. I can’t wait for them to re-open.
I live in SF and our libraries have been closed since March. No reopening date. Bookstores, however, have been open for browsing since June. Why can’t libraries reopen with internet access off and seating areas closed? If bookstores are open then why not reopen libraries in a modified way?
Hi Chris! As a fellow Bay Area book lover, I know it’s hard! Much of the SFPL staff has been deployed as disaster services workers. I’m a library staff at another Bay Area library system and when we are hired we sign a contract agreeing to be workers for the county in times of public emergency… never thought it would actually happen! But anyway, the reason they haven’t fully reopened is because they are way too short staffed to do so. I know that they are reopening branches for curbside pickup though, and I hope you can get your books that way :)
Thank you for everything you’re doing, B!
I always felt Librarian was the dream job; now I am one of the library trustees of our teeny weeny library in our teeny weeny town. Sadly, it’s too small to let anyone in safely, so we do lots of curbside pickup, etc. Unfortunately our town voted not to fund us this year so we don’t know what will happen. Grants won’t cover operating expenses. We’re sending out slightly desperate letters for our annual appeal, but we will have to curtail our open hours if something doesn’t come up. Any ideas out there?
Hi, Mouse. Has anyone set up a Go Fund Me page for your library? If so, can you share the link with us, or any information where people can donate? Wishing the best for your library!
Libraries are my absolute favorite! On top of my normal checking out, my library has been keeping me sane during quarantine as I’ve been checking out and cooking through new cookbooks as I’ve gotten bored time and again with my own cooking! Endless. cooking.
AMEN!!! Also, the joyous serendipity that comes from wandering the aisles (have I ever thought about the beauty of composting or the fiber art cultures of the Mayans? No, but now I must know more!) and the sense of being in a quiet, sanctified space for going inward with my imagination. Oh, also witnessing modern day kids, with their technology and general know-how, fall in love with reading. I could write a love letter :) p.s. Has anyone else read Susan Orlean’s “The Library Book”? Easily one of the most capitvating, dynamic, and well-researched books in recent years!
I look forward to Grace Farris’s illustrations every Friday, but this one really hit home. A few weeks ago, I wrote as essay on Medium, about how much I miss being in the library and what it means to see those doors still closed.
I Just Want Whatever Reopening Phase Lets Me Back in the Library
https://medium.com/curious/i-just-want-whatever-reopening-phase-lets-me-back-in-the-library-a6f32865f0a?sk=5eb338e5ffaaae97b98cd5507babbe05
Purnima,
Your writing is beautiful and I am right there with you. I went to libraries every week and I miss the connection so much. Educating and access to books should be considered essential.
We moved in July and one of the things I’m most looking forward to is exploring the public library here! Can’t wait.
(We eventually want to move to Minneapolis, and the library there is a HUGE draw for me too.)
Browsing!!!
I can request books for curbside pickup, but I had no idea how much I relied on browsing kids books to find good ones for my kids. Reading book lists on the internet for ideas for them is…inferior in every way! Slow, more misses than hits, and heavily slanted toward the new, with zero chance of stumbling on a gem by accident.
I bet if you call your children’s librarian and tell them your kids’ favorite books they could come up with some great recommendations that you might not find on your own :-)
Count me in. When I think about what I miss the most during this pandemic, the thing that comes after seeing family is being in the library! Curbside pickup is NOT the same.
The thing I am dreading the most about winter is not having the library as an activity option for my toddler. We spent hours there every weekend last winter and it was the best. One parent could browse while the other was on duty, and we would run into all of our other toddler parent friends. Oh and of course the nearby bakery that factored in on either end. Sigh.
Yes! Our public library system has tried to work with the pandemic by boosting their online offerings like movies and other services. They already had a great virtual library of books and magazines and keep adding to their collection. Recently they also started offering book pick up–you request a book from their collection, they let you know when its available, and you make an appointment to pick it up. I miss the library. Its always been a haven for me wherever I was living.
My dad was unemployed for most of my adolescence and very clinically depressed. The local library became his office – gave him somewhere to go each day to job hunt or read, and he developed a community (of librarians, regulars) to chat with. While I’m sure they didn’t think they were doing anything heroic, they were giving him things he really needed, at a time when I worried about him every day. When he finally found work and his mental health (thankfully) improved, he served on the library board and never missed a weekend visit to his favorite place. Thank you librarians, for the invaluable services – official and unofficial (human) – that you provide every day!
Wow. Thank you for sharing, Lara. Your dad’s story made me tear up. I’m so happy for him and for your family that his mental health has improved and that the library has provided a safe space and community to witness his transformation. And ditto on gratitude to librarians!
I love your dad’s story Lara; it’s also my shelter when I am feeling depressed. Being surrounded by books, mystery and knowing that I will be left alone. Paradise. It’s fantastic that your dad finally found work, mental health and kept nourishing his link to the library…
I love the Library. There’s something about walking through all the aisles with the anticipation that a book will suddenly catch one’s interest. It’s like a surprise that calls out to you. The Librarians are THE BEST. You think they don’t notice but one day I checked out a Lego book for my, then, preschool aged son. The Librarian paused and said, “Oh, no more construction vehicle books?” She had noticed my son had an obsession with diggers and dump trucks for years but had progressed to another subject. Another time, I noticed a Librarian comforting a high school senior who was writing college admission essays and had broken down in tears from the stress. Long live the library!!!
Yes, 1,000%. This is one of the spaces I miss the MOST during this pandemic. I’m taking full advantage of curbside pick up for myself and daughter, but going and browsing, meandering, choosing, reading, just being in the library… Can’t wait to be on the other side of all this and spend a lazy Saturday afternoon at the library.
Oof this hits so, so hard today. I work at a public library in Wisconsin, and we have actually been open to the public (requiring masks and taking endless safety precautions for staff and patrons) since mid-June. We’ve also offered curbide for pick-up but staying open to the public (and requiring masks) was a priority for us. We hung on for 5 months but our covid numbers are climbing endlessly and we’ve just made the decision to move to just curbside for the foreseeable future. My heart is broken. We’ve worked so hard to stay safe and we’ve tried to hang on and we’re going backwards in our state.
If you have a public library that you love, now is a great time to check out their social media and see what kind of creative stuff they’re doing. We are working our butt off to still provide services to our patrons, and virtual programs are a huge part of that. If you can comment on their posts, get books through curbside pick-up (to help boost circulation!) or even email the library board, any little bit counts. A lot of libraries are facing budget cuts and staff furloughs so we need our supporters!
Ugh I miss my libary so much! We have a very limited number of libraries open here in Queens. My local library is just on the end of my block but it’s closed. (It was open for Election Day though, and I wanted to cry when I stepped foot inside. Not because I was hoping our current administration’s term would be over but because I had missed being in the libary so much.) The closest open library to me is a 20 min walk and I take my babies every 2 weeks to pick up all our holds.
I live in an immigrant majority neighborhood and our library is the bedrock of the community. Kids would swarm the library, doing homework, arts and crafts and walking out with stacks and stacks of books. The library would be packed with adults studying, reading the paper, attending classes. My husband who is a stay at home dad would take my toddler (then baby) to storytime. I was so excited for him to graduate to Toddler Dance class but the pandemic hit and libraries closed by the time he learned to walk.
I teach 5th grade in a Title 1 Brooklyn public school and our classroom library was lacking due to funds. I would give my students Scholastic Book order forms and Indie bound Kid lists and they would tell me what books they wanted to read from these catalogs. It made me so happy to get them these books from my library into their hands. They would get so excited to read the newest book in a series or a graphic novel they wouldn’t have otherwise had an opportunity to read. I miss seeing kids get excited over books.
This very long comment is just me saying I miss my library so much sometimes I want to cry.
I live in Michigan and we are fortunate to have our local library open for visits up to 30 minutes. While I would love to sit and linger a bit longer, I will take whatever they deem safe for all of us. On my last trip, I checked out three cookbooks in anticipation of a long winter at home. Be safe all.
Our libraries are open for pickup only, and we’re thankful because we homeschool by choice and rely on library materials. They have moved librarians out of jobs and eliminated positions (including BIPOC staff), and just “won” a tax measure for more tax monies.
Our librarians are our friends. They’ve rejoiced with us over reading milestones and helped my kids find resources and new things to learn. Several have shared their perspective on the changes from the inside.
Our neighborhood now has a new staff that we don’t know. It’s a complex situation and many believe political. New normal I guess.
We have “to-go” service but I really miss the library itself and will miss it even more as it gets colder. It was such a hangout spot for my two little ones and place of discovery. I miss librarians. Years ago, I was in the library looking for something new to read. A librarian handed me a book saying, “This just came out, you’re the first borrower!” It was Patti Smith’s “Just Kids.”
side note: one of my favorite sounds in the universe is the sound of a hardcover library book open. it must be the jacket.
My heart! I’m a librarian (library manager), and I just know these comments are going to make me cry. We miss our patrons and our in-person services so much. It’s hard not to see our people and know they’re okay.
If you miss a librarian or your library, please consider sending a letter or an email!!! We are helpers and public service fills our cups. “We miss you” messages and the occasional patron waves from the window are keeping us going behind the scenes! Xx
PS. Many libraries are doing curbside service, virtual programming, and standard library reference/research by phone/email. Take a look at what your libraries are still doing for your community and make your support known! Many library budgets are up for review this time of year, and your city council need to know what you value. Tell them or show them by using the library in the currently limited capacity! :)
Hi Kaela! Fellow public library manager here. I cry all of the time reading CoJ but this one cuts deep. We’re open to the public, but only for 1/2 hour visits. Ushering people out into the cold, who used to spend their whole day with us before, is a special kind of hell. It goes against everything we used to stand for. It’s all for everyone’s safety, but it HURTS.
On it! I’ve been thinking for weeks about sending a message to our library with effusive thank yous and this pushed me over. Our library opened for curbside mid-summer and it was magic, and now we can go in, albeit limited access. I may be thinking too much of our family and unique name, but I have the hunch library staff is entertained by whatever our gang’s latest fascination is (3 &6.5 yrs). “Oh, here’s the hold request for the XX’s again…little B must be into buses and G still loves African animals. Looks like they are working through Arthur, too. ” I am flabbergasted when I meet neighbors who don’t have library cards – man libraries are the best.
I miss the library so much! I have to give a shout out to the amazing staff at the library though – we have curbside pickup for holds now, and yesterday when I called to say I was there, the librarian asked if they could bring me any other books and then went and hand selected 7 books for my kids, who are avid readers. Above and beyond service!
I love the library! In the late spring when we could still only do curbside pick-up, the librarian came out to my car in one of those blow up dinosaur costumes. It was seriously the cutest thing and made me smile for days afterwards knowing how much joy she brought that day. Librarians are THE BEST.
Public libraries are one of the few truly democratic spaces left in our community, where everyone is welcome and there is no expectation to spend money. The loss of these physical spaces at this challenging time cannot be under-estimated.
That said, many libraries have rallied and are providing curbside, remote, and other offerings within the community.
I am a public library volunteer participating in a school year-long children’s literacy program where I meet with a grade school parter who has literacy challenges, weekly, via Zoom. In addition to hopefully instilling confidence and a love of reading in my little buddy, this has been the single most impactful thing I’ve done to make me feel “worthwhile” during this challenging time.
If you are in a position to participate and volunteer at your local library, I strongly encourage you to do so. Not only does it benefit the community, but it just may make you feel a little bit more whole, too!
Our library has curbside pickup but it’s certainly not the same as being able to browse yourself. Miss it for sure.
I miss book browsing sooo much!
The library is the place I miss the most. My son and I would go 2-3 times a week, not just to check out items but to participate in their many activities (scavenger hunt, games, shows, storytimes), chat with librarians, meet other kids/parents, play with the toys, puzzles, etc… I’m grateful they are still open for pickup but miss the human interactions in the neighborhood that happened there (although understand why it should be closed now). It was great to have a place like that. my library also had crafting workshops which thankfully they just started up again online and you pick the supplies up curbside. The library was the best!
Public children’s librarian here, and I just want to say that we miss you all too!!! Seeing many of my regulars in the neighborhood or when they come in briefly is often a highlight of my day and week!
I work at a public library, and I promise the staff misses everyone too, and are very grateful people are willing to be flexible to keep everyone safe. I’d counter April above and say that libraries everywhere aren’t “open” in the way that we wish they were – my system still doesn’t allow browsing inside, and access to computers and some other services are by appointment only for limited time windows, and all check-outs are happening outside or at the door. But every system is definitely trying hard to do the best they can under shitty, untenable circumstances.
I’m a public librarian who delivers books to homebound patrons who are tucked away and so hard-hit by this virus. I care deeply about each of them and have the best job in the world! It warmed my heart to read this because libraries are the best of all of us!
Oh, this so hit home! Our library has curbside pickup as well, but every time I go I am so nostalgic and eager to return to browsing the shelves one day.
We miss it so much! We’ve been doing curbside pickup at least weekly which is a highlight of my kid’s week. Our local library just started a weekly outdoor browsing tent (open sides) – everyone wears masks and gloves and a few at a time so it seems very safe. I am so thankful for our librarians!
Our library is only open for curbside pickup, but recently I saw a librarian poke his head out of the door to talk to a young kid. He was asking him if he preferred comic books or not. It made my heart leap. Librarians go above and beyond.
Shout out to the East Boston branch of the BPL.
Yes! Eastie neighbor here. We’re there every week doing curbside pickup and I love the occasional glimpses of the staff we get (and, oh, do I miss browsing the Lucky Day collection). I love to see people hanging out on the Adirondack chairs outside. It’s as if they are getting as close as possible to the real thing. Soon…
I miss the library, too. I miss my bookstore job more, but the library is also amazing for a variety of reasons.
Love this! The last one reminds me of a beautiful kids book, written by my sister in law’s mother, except it’s about a book that didn’t want to be read! https://www.amazon.com/Fred-Book-Didnt-Want-Read/
We are gobbling up children’s books during the pandemic and my two year old is always asking for new ones, but we don’t have a good public library anywhere nearby and I miss my childhood libraries so much!
We’ve been going through the drive-thru at 2 of our local libraries since early August. Every time the library worker opens the window my 4yo takes a deep inhale and says “the books smell beautiful!” I tear up every time.
I’m a librarian and this just made me cry. We miss you. Thank you for sharing. xx
My mom was a librarian, I might have to frame this for her. She wasn’t the stereotypical high school librarian- her library had guitars, a hedgehog, lots of records, and good puzzles. It was more like an oasis for kids who needed a break from traditional learning. As a kid, riding the bus to her campus everyday to read books until it was time to go home was a magical childhood experience. Also, getting to help choose all the new books over the summer is something I really appreciate today.
I appreciate the depiction of the librarian ?
Yes!
Aww as a library worker this makes me happy and sad.
Check out https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/11/powells-bookstore-perfume/. Apparently everyone is missing the smell of books!
Our library has been doing curbside pick up – which is a godsend – but I do miss going in – and my kids do too. We used to spend 2 to 3 hours every other weekend at the library.
Even if your local library building is closed right now they are probably offering curbside holds pickup, personal recommendations and virtual programs for adults and kids! They miss you too
Plus Lois! Lowry! You are so right on, Grace!!!
THIS!!! I still go visit the children’s section to check out my favorites, and stop by to see Jessica, the children’s librarian. She always knew where Magic Tree House was! Or Enola Holmes, or anything by Shannon Hale, or… Man. Children’s books rock! So do libraries! And especially children’s librarians! Maybe I should quit my job and be a children’s librarian…
Our libraries are closed, but we can still order and pick up books (we wait outside, call their number, they put them on a table in the vestibule, and then once they leave we enter and pick them up). I’m obsessed with my library. Truly has been one of my saving graces during the pandemic.
Public librarian here-libraries everywhere are open! Please come see us and please wear your mask and keep your distance. If you feel unsafe, we are happy to bring books out to your car and do contactless curbside service. As another librarian poster mentioned, librarians are such a vital part of community and arguably one of the last solid foundations of democracy. We are still here to serve you and we miss you too!
These comments make me even MORE grateful that my local libraries are still open! Masks and capacity restrictions and an hour maximum stay, so it’s far from business as usual, but I’m glad to live in a city with big libraries that can make this work. I’ll write an appreciation email (or several) to the librarians of my Colorado county.
I miss the library so much… it has always been an integral part of my life but now with a 2.5 year old and the weather getting cold, I miss story time, browsing, playing and just being in a place that is not home for a bit. Grateful to have curbside pick up for books and libby for audiobooks though.
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