CHEROKEE, Iowa (AP) - Even when the Cherokee Public Library’s doors were closed for roughly two months amid the COVID-19 pandemic, its internet service was available 24/7.
Director Tyler Hahn said several people asked if they could back up their photos to the cloud or update their video game stations and cellphones from the library’s parking lot.
“We’re one of the few resources within our community where you can utilize internet without having to make any sort of purchase. You’re just kind of free to exist without the expectation of having to spend money,” he told the Sioux City Journal.
With few clothing retailers in Cherokee, Hahn said finding a pair of black slacks, for example, was difficult at the time, so residents turned to online shopping. He said both younger and older adults had never made a purchase from Amazon before and sought help from library staff to do so.
“We had a lot of people needing a walk-through with how to go ahead and address those various steps and then even for printing materials like return labels,” he said. “We’re one of the few places in town where you can go ahead and make a copy. A lot times, we were making copies and having that be a part of our curbside services as well.”
Donna Chapman, Woodbury County Library director, said she noticed cars parked in the library’s parking lot in Moville after the library shuttered its doors in mid-March to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“I do think people do come and use it,” Chapman said of the library’s free Wi-Fi.
Both libraries also served as a resource for parents desperate to find educational activities for their bored kids. Chapman said the Woodbury County Library offered “Story on a Stick,” an opportunity for children to read a story as they walked by the library in Moville on a paved trail. Hahn said parents in Cherokee were worried about their kids falling behind academically and bounced ideas off of library staff.
“During the pandemic, so many parents were having to adapt to school their children for the very first time and needing those supplemental resources or figuring out activities because they were worried about their kids falling behind for this next academic year. That’s still a real and tangible fear that they have,” he said.
Now that both libraries have reopened, patrons have likely noticed some changes.
Plexiglass shields have been set up at the circulation desk in Cherokee, X’s mark the floor and, as of late June, computer access was not yet being offered.
Hahn said staff were initially holding books in quarantine for a week, but have since reduced that time to 72 hours, based on guidance from the REALM (REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums) Project. He said the fact that staff were quarantining books longer than needed gave them some “peace of mind.”
“We’re running really low on cleaning supplies,” said Hahn, who was hoping to open up staggered computer stations. “We are able to go ahead and get hand sanitizer and bleach before everything else, but spraying bleach on a keyboard and letting it set for 10 minutes proves to be a little bit problematic for all the little electronic components in there.”
Chapman said staff are disinfecting returned books with antibacterial spray after they’ve been quarantined for a couple of days. She said masks are available for visitors at the front door of the library in Moville if they wish to wear them.
“I think people are good with that,” she said. “A lot of people like to come in and browse.”
Hahn encourages people who have needs to continue to reach out to their local libraries for help, whether those libraries have re-opened or not.
“If you do have needs, let us know so that we can better serve you in the future,” he said. “I have a feeling it’s just a matter of when something like this happens again that we need to go ahead and be prepared for.
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