Page 4 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, July 31, 2020 Everett Public Libraries announce operations during COVID-19 T he Everett Public Libraries are being reimaged in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of July 27, the Parlin and Shute Libraries have had more than 1,400 physical items checked out to patrons through the Library-toGo program. Out of the 25 libraries in the North of Boston Library Exchange (NOBLE) system, Everett Public Libraries was the first library system to roll out a library-to-go/curbside pickup program – Gloucester and Lynnfield rolled out on the same date, June 6. Both Gloucester and Lynnfield have not endured nearly as many COVID-19 cases in their municipalities as Everett has. Gloucester has 264 cases and Lynnfield has 98 cases, while Everett has more than 1,800 cases. The city resumed Interlibrary Loans (ILL) on July 6, meaning that the Everett Public Libraries are both fulfilling patrons’ requests from other participating NOBLE libraries and having patrons’ requests fulfilled via delivery to the Parlin and Shute Libraries if a book requested is not available at either. Patrons may reserve materials if they have a library card. Brown paper bags with the patron’s first initial and last name will be filled with the requested items and placed on a table for pickup. Pickups will be made available to patrons Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at both the Parlin Library (410 Broadway) and Shute Library (781 Broadway). The Parlin pickup location is in the first floor atrium. The Shute pickup location is in the front entrance atrium. Requests/holds must be made prior to coming to the Libraries. Patrons are not able to enter the buildings, peruse the stacks or make requests for items while onsite. Rather, patrons may elect one of the following three options for selecting items before coming to the Libraries: • Phone: Parlin – 617-3942300; Shute – 617-394-2308 • Email: Parlin – ParlinInfo@noblenet.org; Shute – ShuteInfo@noblenet.org • Online: Visit the online catalog (https://everett.noblenet.org/eg/opac/home), peruse the libraries’ collections and place a hold. For those who do not yet have an Everett Library Card, appointments can be made via the phone numbers or email addresses above. A staff member will inform you of a date and time to come as well as what identification materials you must bring with you. A staff member will provide you with a sheet to fill out when you arrive and, once complete, print you out a personal library card. For the safety of library staff and patrons, items must be returned via the book drop found at the exterior of each building. At the Parlin Library, the book drop is located to the right of the first floor entrance. At the Shute Library, the book drop is located to the left of the front entrance. Once returned, items will be quarantined for 72 hours before returning to the stacks, which might cause a slight delay in the availability of some items. OverDrive circulation Compared to 2019, the months of April, May and June have seen a substantial increase (more than 20 percent) in the Everett Public Libraries OverDrive circulation. OverDrive focuses on audiobooks and eBooks available on the libraries’ online catalogue that allow patrons to enjoy materials without leaving their homes. Weeding After a long time of sitting on the shelves and/or circulating to patrons for many years, materials will inevitably become outdated, marked up, torn, tattered or lost. To ensure sufficient space on library shelves for new materials and to keep library materials fully up to date with the ever-changing world around us, “weeding” is a necessity of any successful library. With patrons not allowed in the physical library buildings for health and safety purposes during this pandemic, Everett’s professional librarians have focused heavily on making significant progress on weeding outdated and/or decrepit materials that have not been checked out of the Everett libraries for years – in some cases, the materials haven’t left the libraries since pre-2000. Throughout the 2019 calendar year, an average month saw 1,022 individual items weeded out of the Everett Public Libraries’ collection. In May 2020, 1,949 items were weeded; in June 2020 3,711 items were weeded, bringing the libraries’ monthly average during these two pandemic-months to 2,830 – nearly triple the 2019 monthly average. Added patrons During the shutdown and with so many people wisely following guidelines to practice social distancing, proper handwashing and mask-wearing – or to stay within the confines of their homes when they can – enjoying the wide array of things that a Library has to offer has become more critical now than ever. The library staff is happy to see that in May and June of 2020, the Everett Public Libraries have added 253 new patrons, the fourth-highest among NOBLE public libraries (with Beverly beating Everett for the top-three spot by only two patrons). Social media, website update and local history Everett Public Libraries has created a new Facebook page – https://www.facebook. com/EverettPublicLibrary/ or search “Everett Public Libraries” on the Facebook search bar. In addition to communicating updates as they arise, the library staff has recently begun a “More Than A Name” series, which provides a history/background of the people behind some of the most influential and impactful names of Everett, including those whose names are attached to libraries, schools and parks. Recently, Everett Public Libraries’ website – https:// www.noblenet.org/everett/ – has experienced an update: cleaning up some dead links, adding the libraries’ COVID-19 policies/Library-to-Go procedures and revising a great deal of the information contained on the site. This is an ongoing process as Everett Public Libraries converts the entire site to a new coding system, but the progress is certainly already noticeable.
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