Josh Martin, president of the board of the ELANCO Library, is impressed with the way ELANCO director Heather Smith and her staff have handled what he refers to as "a strange year." "It has been a challenging time, and we've been forced to do a lot of creative thinking, but Heather and the staff have really risen to the occasion," said Martin.
Among the steps the library took to continue to serve patrons are curbside pickup and appointments as regulations allowed and, eventually, semi-permanent plexiglass barriers when the library reopened. "They have gone above and beyond in terms of safety protocol," said Martin.
In spite of the pandemic, library use by the ELANCO community has been brisk. "In a normal year, we circulate about 150,000 items," said Martin. "It's amazing (how) many people utilized materials even with all the restrictions in place." Martin reported that in the past few months, with just curbside and appointment-only service, the library still circulated more than 5,000 items a month. "People are calling in and placing their to-go orders," he said. "Our staff pulls the items and bags them, and people can have the materials they want without ever needing to get out of their car."
During this time of uncertainty, Martin noted that the dedication of those associated with the organization has not wavered. "We are really committed as a board, and certainly Heather and her staff (are committed) to continue to provide people with the materials and resources they need," he said. Martin noted that the library serves an important role in the community, one that has only been heightened by COVID-19 restrictions. "There are people who really depend on the library for their information, and we want to make sure they can get it, especially during difficult times," he said. "As more parents and students are becoming homeschoolers in a way they thought they never would, we want to be accessible to them as well. We are still a resource for the whole community. We are doing everything we can to stay open and let people know we are here and available for them."
To help the library continue to be a resource, the board has set a special fundraising goal for 2020. "This is when we would be gearing up for our auction, which we can't have (this year)," said Martin, who noted that instead, the board delayed the organization's usual summer appeal letter until fall and is offering three giving options. "(Area residents) can mail in a check or they can go online and donate," said Martin of the first two options. The third option is to give online when the library participates in the Extraordinary Give on Friday, Nov. 20.
Martin noted that the library has taken measures to cut costs based on a plan to reasonably contain costs put forth by Smith. "This is a very giving community," said Martin, who noted that last year's appeal raised $25,000 to purchase a desperately needed new roof for the building at 11 Chestnut Drive, New Holland. "Thank you, everyone, for your generous support of our new roof," said Martin, who noted that this year the board hopes to raise that same amount of money by the end of 2020. "Raising that would be amazing," said Martin.
Readers who would like to know more about the library and the fundraising campaign may visit https://elancolibrary.org. More information about the Extraordinary Give may be found at http://www.extragive.org.
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