As the coronavirus pandemic intensifies, medical workers worldwide are facing a critical shortage of personal protective equipment, or PPEs — the masks, face shields, gloves and aprons that protect them from the deadly virus.
As we look to fall 2020 and our start to the school year, one thing is certain: it will be like no other start we have experienced before. Many districts have already decided to begin the year virtually, and others are sure to follow. Districts starting with a hybrid model of mixed virtual and face-to-face learning will also face challenges that we have not yet encountered.
Welp. After writing a post just a few months ago about my anxiety surrounding re-opening, my library is now closed … for a second time. We closed in March, then opened again in mid-May, after the governor declared that libraries were among the first wave of places allowed to re-open.
All seemed fine at first: our toys were put away, the computers were appointment-only, and everyone was encouraged to grab their materials (after sanitizing) and then leave.
If you've been on social media lately, you may have seen lists of educational resources offered for free or at minimal cost during the COVID-19 pandemic. These lists can be overwhelming, and many resources may not meet your school district's privacy guidelines. And what happens when the free resources are not free anymore? Can your library support the purchase that your students and teachers have come to rely upon?Â
If you’re missing nature or feeling a little claustrophobic these days, you’re not alone. Across the world, COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into springtime plans, from spring break camping trips to strolls through urban parks.Â
With the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this Wednesday, April 22, libraries can still offer ways for their patrons to celebrate nature safely. Below are some of low-risk, easy ways you can encourage your community to remember the planet this week.
As library workers try to reach patrons virtually while social distancing, many are turning to videoconferencing platforms like Zoom, Facebook Live or Google Hangouts.
Taking library programs online can be effective at reaching audiences that are connected to the internet. And videoconferencing has other benefits: it is cost-effective, you can reach people far outside your service area, and it may be a draw for community members that can’t or don’t visit the library in person (think parents of young children or people with disabilities).
During these challenging times, you may not have plans for National Library Week (April 19-25) or you may be unsure how to get involved this year. But there are many ways to recognize NLW and celebrate how libraries are continuing to serve their communities.
To help, ALA has created a tip sheet, 20 Easy Ways to Participate in NLW 2020, that is full of ideas on how your library can join the festivities virtually. Here are a few of our favorites.
On first examination, it may seem like there is little place for the humanities in a pandemic — that only hard facts and medicine can help us in a historic moment like this one. After all, people rarely call in the humanities experts during times of crisis.Â
The coronavirus pandemic has been a source of fear and anxiety for many of us, including children. But we can also treat the experience of living through the pandemic as an opportunity to talk to children and their families about resilience and collective action. Earth Day 2020 is the perfect occasion, and you need to go no further than your library’s YouTube or Facebook page.
Over the past few weeks, the world has been engaged in what cultural anthropologists call “world making,” an experimentation and reimagining of systems, relationships and activities often birthed from extreme circumstances. Catalyzed by social distancing, libraries are transitioning activities online/indoors/away from groups. Flexibility and creativity are the order of the day.
“History is often associated with the past — events of someone or something not connected with us. There is nothing like a global health crisis, however, to realize we are making and living history right now.”Â
So began a March 23, 2020, open letter to the community from archivist and local history librarian Monique Sugimoto with the Palos Verdes Library District (PVLD).
We began having weekly virtual story times using the Facebook Live platform on March 20, shortly after closing for the COVID-19 virus. We wanted to give people a chance to be together synchronously, even if it was virtual.
We included books, interactive songs, fingerplays, dances, puppets and craft ideas. We also used a guitar and a ukulele and encouraged interaction by having participants pick which instruments we would use for certain songs.
Have you heard that essential oils or colloidal silver can cure COVID-19? Or that the virus was developed as a bioweapon in a lab? Have you received any messages that “a friend of a friend” has insider information that the nation is going into lockdown?
Pandemic-induced closures of public libraries nationwide are an inconvenience to many, but one group is perhaps affected more than others: people experiencing homelessness.
