Luis Hernandez: You know, before the pandemic, libraries were already making those moves to more, a more digital world, and the demands that your patrons had, and then COVID. COVID hit, everything changed. Over these last few years, what have you been doing to adapt to this new world?
Cheryl Space: Well, you’re right, we had been providing more digitally, but the pandemic just accelerated that move. So like everyone else, we shifted to offering programs on Zoom. So we started up a brand new community reads book program – book and author program, where people got together once a month. We started offering our classes that had been in the library on Zoom. So English language classes, GED preparation classes that we provide in Spanish, we’ve offered gardening, we offered all kinds of things. And that led to a real exponential growth in our YouTube channel. Before the pandemic, we only had four subscribers, and now we have over 700. So that’s become a brand new platform for us.
Hernandez: What’s on your YouTube channel?
Space: Well, our YouTube channel has storytimes in Spanish and American Sign Language, you can learn how to build a model tank, you can learn how to save seeds and gardening, you can learn about African American history in Rhode Island. Basically, everything we’ve done that we’ve recorded, we’ve put and we’ve created all these different learning channels. So it’s all there and available.
Hernandez: When did you start to see people coming back? And I wonder, if they are coming back like they used to before the pandemic, does that change, again, what you’re you’re offering? Or are you still going in that direction?
Space: So now what’s happened is, I think it’s allowed us to become more inclusive, because we’ve gotten these tools. So now we offer some programs in a hybrid model, where, you know, we’ll be having a book group, and we’ll have, half the people are in the room and half the people that are on Zoom, or a knitting circle will still meet virtually while we have some meeting in the library. And the other thing that we’re doing new is we’re live streaming events. So with the League of Women Voters, we offered mayoral forums, you know, in September to get ready for the primary, and we were able to livestream those and have them available. And then they were also recorded at the same time. So we’ve had hundreds of people look at them after the fact. So it’s just opened up all these new channels.
Hernandez: For many years now, one of the important services of libraries is that you provided computers and internet for those families that couldn’t have those things at home. And you know, just looking at the need that we see today, I’m wondering what you see. Has the need grown, and how are you meeting it?
Space: One thing that COVID funding provided for people was lower cost internet at home. So we’re actually seeing more people come in who have been able to access internet access at home, which is wonderful. But we’re seeing that, a need for, to support those services that they have at home. Then they have questions, you know, “I don’t understand what this form is asking me.” So we provide that one-on-one support. So it’s just shifted a little bit, but it’s still very much there.
Hernandez: You talked about some of the things that you had to do during the pandemic. I wonder about your job: How has it changed over the last few years, your life? How’s it changed?
Space: Oh, my goodness. So I always laugh because I never really thought much about ventilation systems, or public health measures, or masks, or how to keep the staff safe, how to keep the patrons safe. And that has just taken up half of my brain. It really has radically changed, you know, how we think about providing our services. And I think the biggest thing that’s happened is that, when the pandemic hit, the government and others were looking around for, where are those community spots that are safe, where people are going, where we can get information and supports out to people, and they really turned to the library. We passed out masks, we helped people sign up for vaccines, we provided, you know, testing. We had 130 people lined up one night to get a COVID test during the surge. And we’re still providing access to vaccines, and boosters, and home tests and masks. So now the challenge for me is, you know, we’ve had all this growth, and so there’s some growing pains involved with supporting the staff and making sure we can do everything that we’re trying to do. And also, once these rescue dollars are gone, how do we keep all of this going? You know, that the community has come to rely on all the new programs.
Hernandez: We’ve seen recently how, you know, parents groups and different groups, you know, are fighting over certain books and the reading materials our kids are getting access to. This happens a lot more at school libraries. But as a librarian, you’re seeing this happen, you’re seeing a push to ban books. And I just wondered how you feel about that.
Space: I will speak for our staff. We find it terrifying. You know, it really is, because for us and in our values, our, you know, the way that we operate, and especially regarding kids, is that we want to offer materials in our collection that support all of our readers. We are in a very diverse community, lots of different thoughts and ideas, and we want to make things available for everyone. So our job is to find those reading materials that excite and motivate kids, adults to read and to learn. And it’s really up to the parents and guardians if they want to make decisions about restricting the access. And that is the way we operate. It’s the way we’ve always operated. You can’t keep ideas from, from being present. You can’t keep people from thinking about these ideas or exploring ideas, even that scare people. And so it’s our job to provide that information, and then people decide what to take home.
Hernandez: Let’s go into the future, even just the near future. You know, with technology, the way everything keeps changing, where do you see libraries in the future? How will they change?
Space: So the beautiful thing about the public library is that it always changes. I think our core mission, our core values of being relevant, being present and being a space in the community will never change. So the big areas of growth I see is that we will always be a free educational center. And we now have a partnership where we’re offering with College Unbound free college classes in the library. So I think, as more and more people are not taking the traditional route to their education, that this is going to be a huge place for the libraries. We will always provide support for new technology, no matter what it is. I think the other thing that we’ve become aware of is people just need a free community space where they don’t have to buy anything, where they can go and be together, they can learn, they can borrow things, they can meet their neighbors, and it’s all free. And we’ve seen that joy as people come in. And I think we provide public forums for people to come face-to-face with their elected officials, we provide that, that place where people can come together and get that information. And that is critical. And I really think that’s an area where we’re going to continue to grow as well.
Hernandez: Cheryl, thank you so much for the time. I appreciate the conversation.
Space: Thank you so much for having me. I really, really appreciate it.
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