Director’s Thoughts – 12/30/2020

The last time I posted a Director’s Thoughts, it was the day after we opened to the public in September. Where do I even begin? Before the virus hit, we were working on hiring a couple of part-time staff members and had a staff of almost 50 individuals working anywhere from a few hours a month to full-time staff. We’re now down to about 35 staff members and beginning in January we”ll be open about 50 hours a week. It’s weird to have a smaller staff, but I’ve finally figured out the best schedule for the hours we have. I’m excited to get some training done with everyone (socially distant, of course).

Staffing

I’ve tried looking back at this year and evaluating where we are and what we want to set as goals for 2021 and it’s virtually impossible. But, throughout everything, my staff have been amazing. Don’t get me wrong, we all have our days, but they have been with me every step of the way. We completely reworked how our circulation desk is run combining staff from the adult and children’s departments together. We’ve offered countless hours of curbside pickup, reimagined a space to create a quarantine room for materials, and completely changed how we do things. With schedule changes, limited hours, and new responsibilities, my team has rose to the occasion and I couldn’t be prouder of them.

Space

Prior to the coronavirus, we were working with a firm on a space study of our current location and figuring out what we needed and what our options were for more space. Now, I’m down staff, down hours, and down budget which means we’ve got to be even more creative and yet realistic with what our new year looks like. We can’t do everything we were doing in 2019 and that’s okay. It might take a couple of reminders for me to realize the reality. But, we don’t have the resources we used to have and that means change. Our goal always and forever is to best serve our community.

Programming

And speaking of community, our programming is different too. Virtual storytimes, grab-and-go activities, and Zoom classes are what we offer. We’re not trying to encourage people to stay in our space for too long. And, I’m not sure if we can even predict when we’ll be able to offer in person programming again. We’re creating a Summer Reading Program that works very well virtually and can be adapted to in-person options if possible.

This year has been challenging in more ways than I could have ever imagined. And I’m excited and more than ready to turn the page on a fresh new year!