April 20, 2020 – National Library Week is held the third week of April across the country and once again we celebrate all types of libraries – school, public, academic and the special libraries in our community. The theme for National Library Week 2020, “Find your place at the library,” was chosen some time ago, before the emergence of the recent pandemic that forced our Nevada County Community Libraries to temporarily close their physical spaces. But that place at the library is still available and open for business in several different virtual and digital ways as communities need libraries now more than ever. The staff at Nevada County Community Libraries has been working behind the scenes to increase access during the closure period to ensure that you still have needed resources as well as a good book to read. “The library is here to provide resources for our community. Closing our doors doesn’t mean we’ve stopped providing service,” says Cindy Pawlowski of Madelyn Helling Library.

Some of the steps taken in the past few weeks include increased access to online collections– all from the comfort of your own home. Options include:

  • No library card? No problem! Go to the library website at: www.mynevadacounty.com/library. Go to How to Get a Library Card and sign up with an online temporary card. A permanent card will be mailed directly to you within days allowing access to all the listed digital resources through our library system.
  • Borrowing eBooks and audiobooks just got better with the digital resource Overdrive. Patron hold allowances have increased from 4 to 8 with a total of 10 loaned items. Just go to the library website or download the Libby App to access this popular resource.
  • Additional funding has been immediately allocated to eBook and audiobooks collections to respond to the increased demand for online resources.
  • Hoopla access has doubled from 5 to 10 checkouts a month thanks to a grant received from the California State Library. This great streaming service allows patrons to instantly borrow digital movies, music and eBooks.
  • Hoopla is offering bonus borrows during the closure period. This collection of over 1,000 titles has no limit on the number of items to access.
  • Nevada County Community Library offers a program called Zipbook that helps to rapidly meet customer needs via direct delivery to your home. Items that qualify under the Zipbook program maybe requested on our website. Details are located on our website under “Purchase Suggestion”.
  • In response to COVID-19 and library closures, enki, an eBook library, is now available to every person in California. No library is required and there are no hold queues. Check it out at https://enki.biblioboard.com/home.

The Adult and Youth Services programming team quickly found ways to make programs accessible in the digital world. “It all happened so quickly, we immediately went into online plan mode,” said Youth Services Librarian Jill Davidson. “It has all come together pretty easily and we continue to find new ways to reach out to our community.”

The Nevada County Community Libraries online offerings include Tuesday Storytime on Facebook at 10:30 AM and on Thursdays at 11:00 AM on Instagram. “I think we have a special role in our community to offer something useful and helpful during this time, and maintaining our programming is vital to many of our community families”, says Davidson.

Adult Services is hosting online Tech Drop-Ins, an online poetry program, adventure travel programs, Lawyer in the Library, and a hosted conversation on healthcare using Zoom. The calendar for all these events and sign ups can be found on the library website at www.mynevadacounty.com/library.

The Truckee Library has stepped up to help support the local medical teams by utilizing its 3-D printers to produce personal protective equipment and related materials for the Tahoe Forest Hospital. Working in separate locations, the library is working with a patron who has run 3-D printing design classes at the library. Together on the library’s two 3-D printers, the patron’s personal printer, and a hospital-purchased 3-D printer, roughly 250 face shield parts have been printed. The process will also include printing for face mask ear relief holders and utility blade holders in the coming days.

So, while our libraries are temporarily closed due to the current public health crisis, it’s a great time to explore the many digital resources we provide. Our library staff is here to help, and we will continue to respond to requests and inquiries from the public. For more information, follow @nevadacountylibrary on Facebook, visit Nevada_County_Library on Instagram, and explore the library’s website at www.mynevadacounty.com/library.