Thrives Through an “Unprecedented” Year
Most of us know the Destin Library has many useful services available to patrons through its websites and free mobile applications. Now, the library also has a video series to help you learn how to get the most out of these services: Answers with Amy! Twice a month, tune in to the Destin Library’s Facebook page or their website (www.cityofdestin.com/library) for new short, informative videos on how to do everything from place a book on hold to registering for a challenge on the Beanstack app.
That’s just one of the many ways the Destin Library has been innovative this past year. The Destin Library strives to be a vital cornerstone of the Destin community. 2020 at the Library started with a new face and some new services. Laura Harris joined the team as the Youth Services Librarian and has created a new early reader collection. Also new this year is free notary services provided by Kitti Capps, circulation supervisor. The Library added a fax line for faxing services and wireless printing. Two new scanners were purchased for the media lab. These scanners are very popular with genealogy patrons who wish to scan old family memorabilia. The book scanner can scan old maps, bibles and other larger items that cannot be copied on a traditional copier.
In December, the Library held its annual Food for fines drive to benefit Harvest House. The staff collected $312 in nonperishable food items and cash donations.
Spring of 2020 brought in many challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Library closed to the public in March of 2020 to help curb the spread of the virus, reopened with limited services, and then closed again at the beginning of July. Library staff has learned to be flexible and creative to serve our community and follow the CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Library offers curbside pickup service along with an online form for patrons to request “grab bags” for a variety of materials. The staff has created digital story times and other programs of interest on its webpage or Facebook page. A daily cleaning and sanitizing regiment was implemented for frequently touched surfaces along with wearing masks. Quarantining of library materials and cleaning of book covers was implemented to help reduce the risk of viruses that may have been on items returned from patrons.
The Library’s annual Summer Reading Program was moved to a digital platform called Beanstack. Beanstack allowed participants to keep track of their summer reading progress by downloading the Beanstack app to a smartphone and entering their reading minutes into the app. Children earned prizes and badges for reading and completing their reading challenges. The Rotary Club of Destin sponsored the program again this year where 237 children and adults were registered for the Summer Program, and 138,719 minutes of reading were logged into the Beanstack app. A total of 247 people tuned into digital performances during the summer.
The Library staff continue to modify services with digital programming and self-directed activities during this unprecedented time. If you have any questions or a suggestion for a future Answers with Amy tutorial, please contact the library at 850-837-8572 or library@cityofdestin.com.
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