
Photo courtesy of Taneisha Tucker.
Joi Mahand, library assistant, pulls hold requests for patrons at the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest.
While the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest has been closed since March 14, workers have not let dust collect in the building, Director Taneisha Tucker said.
“Along with performing routine duties, we thoroughly cleaned and sanitized the library,” Tucker said. “The staff participated in various training opportunities, which included COVID-19 and health and safety training.”
Patrons were asked to hold on to their materials until June, and the library began to promote its online services, including the ability to check out digital materials and take part in online events.
All summer events were moved online, forcing the library staff to adjust and prepare to serve the city in new ways, Tucker said. But the service has not stopped, with library workers serving more than 2,100 patrons via curbside service while they’ve had the building physically closed.
“This experience has required that we all become more flexible and innovative to get things done,” Tucker said. “We have spent hours meeting via Zoom and working on new policies and procedures for staff and patrons. The work for us did not stop, but it changed and, in some instances, increased.”
Programs have either been recorded beforehand or hosted live on Zoom, which Tucker said requires more preparation along with hours of editing and merchandising.
Summer reading, usually one of the most popular events the library hosts each year, was also moved online. Tucker said the staff had to make adjustments and find different ways to celebrate patron reading milestones and accomplishments, as well as learning how to communicate with patrons in different ways.
One of the more visible events the library will host is coming up this month with the Mark Seymour family-friendly concert on the Vestavia Hills City Hall lawn on Aug. 7-8.
While patrons may not be able to see it, the library staff remains very busy, answering patron requests and questions via email, social media and through the library’s website. The book drops opened May 26, and the library has received more than 20,000 items back from patrons. In order to protect against the spread of COVID-19, Tucker said those items have been quarantined, checked in and shelved in preparation for the next request. The staff has also been budgeting for the upcoming fiscal year and ordering new materials.
Patrons can check out all circulating library materials, including books, audio books, mobile hotspots, hammocks, walking sticks, playaways, magazines and more using curbside service.
“Patrons have access to almost everything except the meeting rooms, passports, proctoring and the ability to come into the facility to browse,” Tucker said.
Tucker said a reopening date had not been set as of press time for the Vestavia Voice. That will depend on public health trends. Thankfully for library staff, despite the closure, there have been no layoffs or budget cuts.
Quarantining library materials and increasing safety measures, including the wearing of face coverings and frequent hand washing are now part of daily life, but Tucker said she and the staff have learned to “welcome and embrace change.”
“COVID-19 has changed the world, and the library is part of it,” Tucker said. “The library leaders and staff willingly accepted that the library as we knew it was no more.... The library staff is composed [of] leaders, innovators and creatives who make my job so much easier.”