March marked a year since quarantine began. It has been a crazy year that has tested the limits of our creativity as we at the Bartholomew County Public Library worked to adapt and find the best ways to serve and uplift our community. Virtual programming and take-home kits have been a hit. The staff here at the library have also loved participating in videos and projects showing our goofy and serious sides, and dial-a-story is coming back to provide a literary pick-me-up for any occasion.
I think I had only worked a month and a half on the Bookmobile with the “normal” procedure before everything got turned upside down. Since then, we have found ways to safely distribute materials to patrons, expanding our homebound delivery services and doing a curbside service for a while as the main building was closed for patrons to browse.
One of the nice things about doing curbside was the opportunity for more of a reader’s advisory service as patrons were unable to browse the shelves. Having only worked at the library for a year or so, it was a great learning opportunity, and I loved getting feedback from patrons.
It’s been a challenge to stay positive and connected through the ups and downs of the last year. Having lost more than a couple family members to the virus, I’ve been grateful to have Zoom and friends to chat with. I’ve had more Zoom knit and chats than I can count. Sometimes more chatting than knitting. We’ve celebrated birthdays, talked through tragedies, and kept each other sane and grounded. As the world is slowly moving back out in the open and the weather is getting nicer, I am looking forward to meeting outside in person and grabbing an ice cream with friends. Going for walks, socially distancing on porches and around bonfires have been a great way to stay social but safe.
This spring my garden is more planned than it was last year and seedlings are starting to poke their heads out. Me being an experimental gardener, there are success stories from last year that will be brought back and lessons learned to apply to the garlic I forgot to dig up. Not unlike finishing a good book, there is a sense of accomplishment in planting something, watching it grow, and, in the case of vegetables and fruits, harvesting the produce. This year every little win has been a great mental health boost and I look forward to vegetables, flowers, and flowering vines covering my garage and carport.
In this new year we are looking forward to getting fully vaccinated and being able to see more faces we have missed.
Our oldest patron, 102, whom I mentioned in my last column, is doing amazingly well and made our day when she came out to say hi. I have been trying to start every day with music, a smile, and dancing around my cat as she tries to trip me up.
Come and visit us, with or without four-legged friends, and follow us on Instagram @mybcplbookmobile.
Margaret Pflueger is the Bookmobile assistant at the Bartholomew County Public Library and can be reached at mPflueger@mybcpl.org.
