Since the pandemic, an Australian library called 8,000 elderly patrons just to check in
Melbourne's Yarra Plenty regional libraries may have closed to the public in March, but the staff continued their public outreach by reviewing their patron database for anyone over age 70 and calling them. Via The Guardia, manager Lisa Dempster described the process of reaching out to 8,000 patrons:
"We called them to say hi, see how they were doing, and then see if there was anything they needed help with, such as access to services, counselling support, tech help, that kind of thing. We would then refer them to a service that would help them," said Dempster.
"What we've found mostly is that people are really up for the chat and love getting that call from the librarian. Some calls go for five minutes and some go for half an hour or more."
They also continued to honor waiting lists, mailing out requested materials as they were returned. Now that's a full-service library!
Image by Rafael Cosquiere from Pexels
DMT.NEWS
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Andrea James, Khareem Sudlow
