MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY – County council has been given an update on the activities of the Sundre Municipal Library during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Library manager Karen Tubb spoke with councillors during the June 3 council meeting, which was held by teleconference.
Tubb explained that while the library building has been closed to the public during the pandemic, activities have continued in many ways.
“We locked our doors, but we didn’t go home,” said Tubb. “When I think about what our focus has been since then I have to use the word connections. We’ve been connecting patrons with books and materials through our e-resources and our curbside services.”
Tubb presented a report outlining activities, including biweekly online story times, song times and craft times averaging more than 200 views, weekly online Lego club and Lego challenges averaging more than 100 views.
Library staff members have also been preparing and distributing family craft kits including instructions and all materials needed to complete the crafts.
“This was a way to support families that were going a little bit crazy and maybe didn’t have the materials at home to do these kinds of things,” she said.
The library has also been facilitating community connections such as adult programs such as knitting, teen Dungeons and Dragons, meeting platforms, and book clubs.
There have been daily social media posts coming out of the library.
“We try to do at least one or two posts a day,” she said.
Curbside pickup of materials, including books, has been in place and working well.
Staff members have also been providing phone assistance in areas such as library information, e-resource help, community information, book and movie requests, printing and faxing services, and library card information. About 10-20 calls a day have been coming into the library.
“Sometimes people are just lonely and want to chat,” she said. “The library has met lots of needs in that way.”
Collaboration with other libraries in the Parkland Regional Library system has also been ongoing, she said.
“The borrowing of e-books has gone up by over 25 per cent and I believe the audio books has gone up between 15 and 20 per cent,” she said. “I’ve really noticed a big difference.”
The library is looking at possibly hosting some outdoor activities this summer, she said.
“You can tell we’ve been busy,” she said. “We’ve learned that we are only limited by our imagination and our creativity. We are excited about the things we have learned.”
Reeve Bruce Beattie commended the library staff for their efforts.
“It’s interesting to see all the events that can happen when the doors are not open,” said Beattie. “I think it just shows how important some of what we call these cultural parts of our society are so important to the health of our society.”
Coun. Peggy Johnson also commended library staff for their efforts.
Council accepted Tubb’s report as information.
