Social media brings library folks into homes
By Heather Ruenz
Staff writer
The crew at Matheson Memorial Library has been working hard the past few weeks since the Coronavirus pandemic reached a new level, schools closed and a Safer-at-Home order was issued by the Governor.
Chad Robinson, Adult Services Librarian at the library, said the staff have made staying connected a priority, while constantly reviewing new policies and so on to stay within the guidelines and keep everyone safe.
“We started by offering curbside pickup. Originally, people would call to request materials, we’d get the time they’d be arriving and the type of vehicle they were driving, and we’d run the materials out when they arrived,” Robinson said.
A few weeks ago, they had to modify that plan to increase social distancing. Instead of running it out to their cars, library staff asked them to call the library from the parking lot. Then, staff would put the materials on a small table they placed in a covered area near the entrance.
“That way, there was no contact between staff and patrons,” Robinson said.
He said in both cases the library was modifying due dates to coincide with our expected reopen date.
“As this goes on, we’re continuing to modify due dates, so no one has to worry about overdue fines,” he said.
The library has also expanded its outreach via many channels, including the use of social media, according to Robinson. Over the years, social media has become a great outlet for people and businesses that want to connect with a variety of audiences who are interested in what they are putting out. It has become so big that users are able to buy Facebook page likes, help grow their Instagram, and use social media managers so they are always on top of their output for people to follow along to.
“So far, we’ve begun a web series on interesting websites to visit, made tutorial videos on some of our online databases, done online storytimes, and done some book discussions over the web with Holton Manor,” Robinson said.
A quick look earlier this week at the library’s Facebook page reveals quite the lineup of “happenings.”
Beginning last Sunday, the library is offering an early literacy/STEAM post or read-aloud every morning at 7 a.m. on Facebook.
“These are based on our early literacy and STEAM activity calendars and will give you something new to do with your preschooler and elementary school kids every day,” the post states.
On Monday, the library presented a science project on Facebook of experimenting with making bricks.
“Get dirty! Use mud, straw, leaves, or whatever else you can find outside. Find a dry place to put them and wait for the sun to come out to bake them,” the post suggested.
In another post, Robinson can be seen and heard reminding patrons to use the current downtime to “learn some new tech, office, or hobby skills” for those who can’t commit to Gale Courses by checking out Lynda.com.
And on Tuesday morning, Ms. Jennifer is one of the library’s stars in a video where she reads “Do not lick this book (it’s full of germs)” by Idan Ben-Barak.
Robinson encourages community members to keep an eye on the library’s Facebook page by liking and following Matheson Memorial Library.
“We plan to have more programs online and people can also check out our Facebook page for everything we’ve done so far,” he said.
