Storytime used to happen several times a week in different libraries across the county, with a room full of preschoolers and their parents. Now it happens on Facebook. “We’ve been developing online content,” said Centennial Library Associate Matt Youngbauer.
Storytimes are very similar to what they used to be. There are songs, and games, and books being performed and read to an empty room.
“We obviously miss the kids; we miss the families. So this is another way to connect with them. In a different way, but another way to connect,” said Youngbauer.
Beyond storytime, the regular line up of online content is still there: ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and newspapers, along with much more, including offering that might help kids, and their parents, with distance learning.
“You can learn a language online or if you’ve got a high schooler at home that’s supposed to be studying up on their Spanish or French, and you are not able to help them with that, Transparent Language is a good resource,” said Erin Straszewski, Anoka County Library’s Community Engagement Manager. “We’ve got homework help where they can tune in for live tutors online.”
And the library is working to find safe ways to make even more available, hoping to make holds available for curbside pickup within a couple of weeks.
For now, the plan is that librarians will keep doing whatever they can, until it is safe to reopen.
