Daleville library open for business

The Daleville Public Library is open for business in a “new normal” way.

When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down municipal offices and facilities to the public, the staff at the DPL came up with a new way of doing business.

“We closed briefly and had to cancel many of the programs we had, such as story time on Fridays,” explained DPL Assistant Director Rachel Horne. “We gave out a lot of craft kits for children, mostly curbside. We had a good response with the curbside service so through the summer we did the same thing,” she added. “Our whole summer was crazy.”

Horne, DPL Director Kathryn C. Brown and Library Assistant Glendon F. Adams Jr., worked during the library building closure to come up with alternate ways of service. “When we first got hit with everything we had planned for years just being gone overnight, we had to rethink how we could meet peoples’ needs,” Brown said. “We’re trying to shift to a different mindset.

“We’re trying to promote things people can do together as a family,” Horne added. “Even if COVID goes away tomorrow, there is always a need for kids and parents to engage in literacy skill activities together.”

Located at 308 Donnell Avenue in Daleville since 2004, the DPL is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Fridays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

The DPL is a service organization, free to all people, which serves an area of 7,806 residents and has a collection of approximately 20,000 books. There are 1,000 audiobooks and 2,200 DVDs. Thirty-seven Internet terminals are available for use by the general public. The library has a collection of over 20,000 volumes encompassing current fiction and non-fiction, classic favorites and out-of-print materials for children, young adults and adults.

“While we were shut down during the pandemic, we obsessed about cleaning and sanitizing,” Horne said. “All materials that came in were quarantined about three days.

“We spray everything down. Computer terminals and keyboard covers are cleaned and sanitized after being used,” Brown said.

“We’re trying to do ‘library’ differently,” Horne added with a smile.