Columbus residents ‘delighted’ to see local libraries reopen after COVID-19 shutdown
Perhaps nobody was more grateful than Joby Umberger when the Chattahoochee Valley Libraries partially reopened its buildings to the public — albeit for only computer, copying and printing services — after closing six months ago due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I was so happy,” she said Tuesday while waiting about 15 minutes for the doors of the South Columbus Public Library to be unlocked. “I was delighted.”
Umberger, 68, has relied on this library branch for a decade to use the internet. When her dial-up service switched to broadband in 2010, she decided it was too expensive for her church office and maintenance salary. Although her visual disability prevents her from driving, the 15-minute walk to the library twice a week has been worth it.
“I need it for some kind of window-on-the world mental health,” she said.
And after being furloughed June 30 because of her church’s budget cuts, she needs the library’s internet access to search for a job, along with shopping for groceries on Amazon and for gifts on Etsy, contacting doctor offices and government agencies and connecting with family and friends via email and social media.
“I really think this library is pivotal to the neighborhood,” she said.
Indeed, according to U.S Census Bureau data from CVL community engagement coordinator Tiffany Wilson, an estimated 47% of households in the South Columbus branch’s service area don’t have internet access. That’s the highest percentage in the seven-branch library system, with a median percentage of 35%.
- 47% South Columbus Public Library
- 41% Marion County Public Library
- 38% Mildred L. Terry Public Library
- 38% Parks Memorial Public Library
- 36% Columbus Public Library
- 35% Cusseta-Chattahoochee Public Library
- 28% North Columbus Public Library.
But CVL helps fill that gap.
In fiscal year 2019, the South Columbus branch was second to only the main branch for the number of times a CVL patron used the public computers, which totaled 281,792.
- 126,968 Columbus Public Library
- 53,161 South Columbus Public Library
- 41,865 Mildred L. Terry Public Library
- 31,584 North Columbus Public Library
- 14,300 Parks Memorial Public Library
- 6,294 Marion County Public Library
- 5,154 Cusseta-Chattahoochee Public Library
- 2,466 Digital Bookmobile.
The rankings were the same in fiscal year 2020 before the shutdown, and they are the same for the number of wi-fi sessions.
The benefit to the wi-fi access was starkly evident to South Columbus branch manager Natalie Couch when the Muscogee County School District started the fall semester with online-only classes.
Couch recalled seeing a teenage girl sit on the concrete outside the library for two days to use the wi-fi before she learned that mobile hotspots are available from the school district.
“It was heartbreaking,” she said. “… We weren’t even allowed to open for bathroom facilities, so she would go home at lunch and then return in the afternoon.”
During the library’s closure, Couch said, the staff helped customers apply for jobs by doing the computer work for them while talking with them on the phone.
“We’ve tried to do as much of that from afar as possible,” she said, “but it is extremely challenging.”
No wonder Couch was “overjoyed” to reopen the library, which had 14 patrons visit Tuesday.
“It definitely proved what I felt was true,” she said, “which is that we are an essential service, that people really want the library to be open for computer usage, and they are going to come back — safely.”
New COVID-19 safety precautions have been implemented throughout the system, such as:
- Masks required.
- Temperatures checked at the door.
- Social distancing of at least 6 feet,
- No eating or drinking in the libraries.
- Computer use is limited to 1 hour per day for each patron.
- Building occupancy also is limited, depending on the library’s size. When the occupancy limit is reached, patrons must wait outside the building until space is available.
- Children younger than 16 must be accompanied by a caregiver older than 16.
- A custodian regularly cleans the library’s touch points.
- The staff sanitizes the computers and lets them air dry for at least 4 minutes before the next patron can use them.
For those wanting to borrow books, DVDs and other library materials, CVL continues to provide its curbside service. Materials may be requested on the website, CVLGA.org, or the new CVL mobile app. Customers are notified when their orders are ready for pickup at their preferred library branch. When they arrive, they call the phone number provided with their order, and a staff member brings their materials.
The Parks Memorial Public Library, serving Stewart County, remains open for only curbside service.
CVL’s two automated 24-hour library kiosks, at 1241 Double Churches Road in Columbus and 6600 Flat Rock Road in Midland, continues to allow browsing of their collection. Materials requested via CVLGA.org or the CVL mobile app may be delivered to one of the kiosks for pickup, but those materials must be returned to one of the four Muscogee County branches.
More information about the library system’s reopening, including adjusted branch hours and virtual programming, is at CVLGA.org and on CVL’s mobile app, available at the Apple App store and Google Play.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 6:50 AM.
