‘A little piece of normal.’ What you can still do through the Stanislaus County library
This time last year, librarian Amber O’Brien-Verhulst was popping Mentos into diet cola to demonstrate the kid-favorite, explosive scientific reaction to a captivated audience on the lawn of the Stanislaus County Library Modesto Branch.
This year, the pandemic halted in-person activities, but it hasn’t stopped the library from providing access to their services, books or other materials, though they’re mostly virtual.
“Our buildings are closed, but we are here,” said Sarah Dentan, County Librarian.
She said when the coronavirus hit, the library staff quickly pivoted their activities and services to online.
“We jumped feet first into the virtual world,” said O’Brien-Verhulst.
One of the first steps they took was implementing a digital library card to increase access for people who didn’t have a traditional library card. The demand for digital cards far exceeded their expectations.
“We had 144 applications the first month (in April),” said Dentan. This was in comparison to about 35 online applications per month pre-pandemic for a traditional library card.
Patrons can reserve items online and pick them up curbside at 12 of the branches. The Turlock branch is currently closed because of construction. The library has waived most fees, including late returns.
“I use the services to get books and DVDs,” Elaine Gorman said when returning books at the contact-less drop-off at the Modesto Branch last Saturday.
Gorman is a retired Modesto City Schools teacher and a devoted, decades-long library patron.
She said using the digital process is really easy, “I check out (items) online, get an email when they’re ready and pick them up.”
Online checkout includes books, movies and other materials for all ages, including children.
Services for children
O’Brien-Verhulst said they provide storytimes on Facebook for children, birth to 2, called Wiggle Worms, and for preschoolers, 3 to 6, following educational guidelines to help youngsters with early literacy.
She said some older siblings also join storytimes because they have fond memories of it from when they were little.
The librarians also offer bilingual storytime, chapter book reading, and “story break,” which is like a bedtime story but not always a “quiet book.”
Dentan said that parents tell her that they and their children love storytime and they’re thankful to have it.
“We’re hearing from parents that this (storytime) feels like a little piece of normal,” said Dentan.
The librarians want kids to enjoy reading, regardless of the topic, so some science has also been added to the roster for the future physicists, geologists and engineers.
Although in-person experiments can’t happen, the child librarians host STEM Challenge Saturdays on Facebook, which gives kids challenges that they can do with materials at home.
An example experiment is the Penny Boat Float, where the kids craft a boat out of aluminum foil and then see how many pennies it can hold and stay afloat. The STEM challenges will continue during the new school year.
The library team hasn’t forgotten that the kids also need fun, especially with being stuck at home due to COVID-19, so they’ve tailored some of their regular activities for online formats.
“We adapted our escape rooms to digital format with different themes,” said Susan Lilly, communications manager for the library.
The escape room themes include a library, a fair and a baseball stadium, with others planned in August.
For older age groups, the librarians are using the video conference platform, Zoom, for interactive sessions, including a book club for adults and trivia nights with popular themes, such as Disney, Marvel Comics and Star Wars appealing to both teens and adults.
More than books
Some patrons go to the library for more than books, including to use computers for completing job applications, for social support, such as parents connecting at toddler storytime, and even to escape sweltering temperatures.
“We’re a designated cooling center,” said O’Brien-Verhulst, “For example, at Modesto (branch), people can come to the basement on the really hot days, and we have masks, social distancing and sanitizer, and they can cool off.” Visitors seeking relief from the heat are not able to access any library materials.
Stanislaus County Emergency Services determines when cooling centers need to open their doors, and they provide a list of locations. The library’s website also includes an alert when they are open as a cooling center.
Early in the shutdown, the librarians were getting phone calls about services that were missing, notably Internet access.
“We were struggling with how to get services to folks without technology,” said Dentan.
The solution - they boosted their WiFi, so the Internet can be accessed with their personal devices from the parking lot at the Modesto Branch. Although not a perfect solution, the majority of adults, including about 80% of homeless individuals, have smartphones.
Helping schools during distance learning
School closures due to the pandemic have heightened worries about students’ loss of learning, called the “summer slide” that typically occurs during summer break. Educators are concerned the students will have a “COVID-19 slide.”
The librarians are ready to help students and teachers get the most out of their resources during distance learning.
“This time of year, usually teachers come here to (arrange) class visits to the library,” said O’Brien-Verhulst, “We still want to be able to connect with students and teachers.”
She said the librarians are hoping to arrange for virtual visits to the library, since the school year is starting with distance learning. They are also encouraging students to apply for a digital card, if they don’t already have a library card.
“Teachers can make requests of the library for their classrooms, for example books to read aloud or science books and then pick-up curbside,” said O’Brien-Verhulst.
They are also offering services for younger children enrolled in daycare centers and preschools.
One example is “Traveling Tales,” which is described as a “storytelling extravaganza in a box.” It’s a pre-assembled box with a theme that includes books, music CDs and puppets that daycare providers, as well as parents and others, can use for storytime. This approach provides introduction to early literacy in a fun and engaging manner.
The library team is also partnering with Stanislaus County Office of Education to train daycare providers on how to make storytime an educational experience, without losing the fun of learning.
The library’s website includes links to other enrichment activities, including virtual visits and video cams to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and other zoos and museums from around the world, e-books, language learning and digital movies.
“During the pandemic, it allows people to have access to the library, “ said library patron Gorman, “It’s a wonderful resource for our community.”
For more information, visit the library website, www.stanislauslibrary.org or their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
This story was produced with financial support from The Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
To help fund The Bee’s children’s health and economic development reporters with Report for America, go to bitly.com/ModbeeRFA
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 4:30 AM.
