Monday, May 18, 2020

May 14, 2020

Time does fly and having fun may or may not be part of the equation. A recent Facebook post reminded everyone that BHPL just celebrated the 2nd anniversary of our arrival at 110 Roosevelt Avenue. Unfortunately, we closed for service in mid-March and our re-opening date is not yet known. Planning has already started, focusing on keeping the public and staff safe and an orderly return to normal, if modified, services.

Let me catch you up on what’s been happening. Having never been involved in anything more complex than remodeling a kitchen, meetings with the Architect, MAST, furniture vendors and IT companies have been interesting, informative, and sometimes confusing. Working with all BH Department Heads has been an exercise in cooperation, learning more about how we all function to serve the public, and just enough levity and occasional competition. Committees of Library Board members have spent hours with our furniture vendor, planning how each section of the new building will best suit an audience ranging in age from just born to seniors. Also, Board Committees have focused on the technology needed now and trying to predict the future. Perhaps the fun part of time flying has been visiting other libraries. Big or small, each library we toured offered ideas on what to do and what not to do. Thank you to all of the staff who answered our questions and provided tours.

During the quarantine staff has been busy preparing to re-open and preparing to move again. When the quarantine first started, we extended library cards that were about to expire, removed holds from all materials, and tried (with limited success) to stop overdue notices. One of my tasks was to change the master calendar by first closing the rest of March, then the month of April, then the month of May and the beginning of June. Guessing when the quarantine will end has become my version of calendar whack-a-mole.

Our next major focus will be when and how we can welcome you back. Thank you to everyone for taking advantage of our digital offerings. Also, be sure to try Freegal and create your own playlist or download some albums. Stay tuned for our next new digital offering scheduled to start June 1st.

Be safe.
~S. Bakos