Local libraries finding patrons' needs have changed in post-pandemic world

Perhaps you could file it under the “don’t-know-what-you’ve-got-‘til-it’s gone” category, but demand for the local public library and in-person services have come back strong three years after the pandemic revamped everything.

Having just observed National Library Week at the end of April, it's as good a time as any to take stock of what’s been happening.

Like most libraries across the nation, both the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library system and Henderson County Public Library had to get creative when the services it could offer became limited in spring 2020.

That involved such things as developing curbside pick-up/drop-off logistics, other safety protocols and figuring out what could be offered in a different way.

EVPL said it increased the numbers and range of eBooks, eAudiobooks, streaming music and video available to patrons at the beginning of the pandemic, and library staff members say the use of those categories remains elevated post-pandemic.

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Heather McKinney, writing and social media specialist at EVPL, reported that their library users have returned to in-person programming at their own speed and comfort levels.

“We are seeing patrons returning to the programs that allow for interaction – storytimes, book discussions, cooking/baking events, STEAM programs with team projects – along with returning for the materials to check out and take home,” she said. “Use of our meeting and study rooms is returning to pre-pandemic levels.”

But there’s also a newness three years later.

At Henderson County Public Library, Director Shannon Sandefur has just passed her two-year anniversary having arrived at the job in the middle of a pandemic and a $8 million, two-story expansion.

That wing, which include additional space for stacks, community meeting rooms, study rooms, an art gallery and a revamped circulation desk, has greatly impacted library traffic since the doors opened in 2021.

The meeting room space can be customized and is weekly the site for Henderson Rotary Club and Henderson Lions Club meetings. Since its opening the room also has hosted wedding receptions, Chamber of Commerce networking events and other community activities.

“It is rare when the rooms are not in use,” said Sandefur, who has a great view of the traffic from her office right across the second-floor art gallery/common area. “They are flipped several times a day.”

Additional traffic at HCPL has happened because of the acquisition of the Henderson County Historical and Genealogical Society collection previously housed at The Depot Community Room.

“That has added a really cool layer to our collection,” Sandefur said, noting that displays in the Local History department located in the original 1904 Carnegie library wing are regularly changed, and visitors working on genealogy are frequent.

“It’s another way to make history come to life,” she said, “not just state and local history, but personal history.”

Because of many individual interests, library usage is robust.

“There’s been a huge jump in people just wanting to come together,” Sandefur said, noting that her facility has been focused on responding to patron requests for new information.

One theme, likely inspired by pandemic isolation, has been a demand for more “how-to” programming.

This year, HCPL has offered 21 different programs in the first quarter of 2023 including workshops on such topics as “Attracting Birds,” “Homesteading,” and “How To Play Pickleball.”

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They’ve also hosted a “meet-the-author” event with bestselling writer Tarynn Fisher from the New Adult genre that was moved to Preston Arts Center because of the number of pre-registrations.

HCPL has added a Maker’s Space with 3-D printing equipment and sound studio, a “seed library” for those looking to plant a garden, an expanded public computer lab and technology classroom and revamped children’s and teen departments. There’s always jigsaw puzzle in progress on the library’s main floor near the circulation desk, and in addition to the more traditional media, you can check out board games.

As post-pandemic travel has ramped back up, the Passport Services office is in high demand; the library has been seeking a bilingual person to assist Spanish patrons of that office.

EVPL has also offered programming far removed from the traditional checking out of a hard-copy book.

“One successful service that was launched during the pandemic is our Take & Makes,” offered McKinney. “We have a new craft every month for kids, teens and adults. Each month, hundreds of our Take & Makes go home with library users.”

EVPL launched the Library of Things, an extension of its collection that goes beyond normal library offerings. Items in the Library of Things include baking and cooing supplies, outdoor games, camping gear, tools and more.

“This new service has also seen high circulation,” McKinney said. “We continue to add to our Library of Things often.”

Sandefur said she sees all of these things as important responsibilities for today’s version of the public library.

“We’re so much more than books,” she said. “I want people to think about their public library differently.”

HCPL By The Numbers - 2022 in Review

• Annual visitors: 209,033

• Visits to website, hcpl.org: 2.2 million

• Bookmobile patrons: 2,653

• Summer reading program participants: 610

• Items checked out daily: 496

• Items in collection: 149,611

• Items checked out in 2022: 240,689

• Programs: 680

• Database searches: 44,976

• Reference questions answered: 16,648

• Passports processed: 44,976

EVPL By The Numbers - 2022 in Review

• Visits to EVPL locations: 608,342

• EVPL cardholders: 104,713

• Visits to website, evpl.org: 544,558

• Public computer usage: 77,204

• Use of physical collection: 918,385

• Use of eCollection: 600,149

• Outreach program attendees: 11,133

• In-person program attendees: 41,311

• Digital program attendees: 15,220

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Where is the library in Evansville and Henderson?