I had a chance to visit with Library Director Janet Anderson from the Minot Public Library.
What happens when a public library can’t open its doors to the public? That’s a question the Minot Public Library has been facing since March 15 when the Library closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic. I had a chance to visit with Janet Anderson the Library Director for the MPL.
Digital resources such as OverDrive and RBdigital allow for patrons to download books, audio books, magazines, comics and even stream movies from anywhere with only their library card number.
The Minot Public Library is offering library cards over the phone (701-852-1045), by e-mail or Facebook Messenger to people needing a library card in order to use these digital resources. These library cards will expire after a short period and will be only used for online resources, but can be extended for full use once the Library is open again. Staff are also working on ways to provide readers advisory service online or over the phone to help readers find their next great read. For those who are looking to spend their time at home learning a new skill, the Library has Creative Bug for crafting, Mango for foreign languages and Universal Class for a dozens of classes on topics such as dog grooming and Microsoft Excel. All of these are available for free at www.minotlibrary.org.
MPL staff members want to continue inspiring people during this time. Children’s Librarian Randi Monley realized that “for younger children, the Library’s story time may be one of the only activities they routinely attend outside of home and/or school,” so she began offering abbreviated versions of story times via Facebook Live. Monley has even had some special guests for her story times and has adapted to the “new normal” by hosting this story time from home when needed. The Facebook Live story times will be held Monday through Friday at 10:30 a.m. on the Minot Public Library’s Facebook page for as long as staff are able to continue.
MPL is also working hard to keep people educated during this unprecedented time, and one way they are doing this is by sharing reliable information. The library has a huge variety of resources on its website for information about COVID-19 and also for educational and recreational activities people can do from home. Staff are working on compiling a list of community resources for people in need and for those who want to help others; this will also be available on the Library’s website, Facebook and Instagram. Anyone with useful resources or who are aware of needs within the community are asked to e-mail janet.anderson@minotnd.org with details.