N. Mississippi libraries adapting and changing to serve communities amid COVID-19

LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) The need for the services provided by local libraries has not gone away during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But it has changed how northern Mississippi communities can access those services and stay safe.

“Your local library is like a hub for the community,” says Winston County librarian Beth Edwards. “We provide so many services for small children, for teenagers, for adults, for the elderly.”

The Winston County Library requires visitors to wear masks, have their hands sanitized and temperatures checked.

“We opened back up in early May after being shutdown for several weeks and people just wanted something to read,” Edwards says. “They were going crazy.”

Even then, there are restrictions on where library visitors can go.

“We have had to limit access to the library to this [main] room only and not into the stacks,” Edwards says.

The Choctaw County Public Library has been closed to in-person visitors since March but there are still several options available for checking out books.

“They can reserve books through our online catalog,” says Cristin Chandler, Director of the Choctaw County Library System. “They can call and request certain things and we’ve got new books and we’ve put those up in the windows so people can come in and window shop.”

Another significant change has been the loss of their in-person programs, which Chandler says over 3,000 people participated in.

“We’ve adapted during the pandemic to offer outdoor programs,” she says. “We’ve done story walks, scavenger hunts, we’ve done make and take bags and some virtual programs on our Facebook page.”

The Winston County Library moved to an all virtual option for many of their in-person programs.

“Our summer library program was all virtual. We had snake man, we had Dorian LeChance the magician and many others that children could watch from home,” Edwards says.
They are also offering digital options for renting audio and e-books with the Hoopla app as well as free, online tutoring through brainfuse HelpNow.

“We’re offering so many things online and the numbers have shown that they’re really jumping up and people are really taking advantage of it,” Edwards says.