by Jana Beebe
It was a dark and stormy year. The pandemic had been going on since March. While the library had closed in mid-March, as many other businesses had, we had opened back up in June for curbside and within weeks had moved into regular service with reduced hours to continue to serve our patrons. Following the protocols as set by the American Library Association, we were quarantining materials checked in for three days. As a consequence, every flat surface, every cart, every bin was utilized, holding books, movies, magazines, in quarantine. Once quarantine was concluded, we washed every item with disinfectant prior to returning materials to the shelves. The situation was chaotic and claustrophobic.
And then – a fateful conversation in mid-October with a Kanab angel led to a generous donation of $5000 to the Friends of the Library to be used to purchase a UV book sanitizer! It was too good to be true! We gratefully ordered the sanitizer. It arrived in early January. No more piles of books in quarantine. We librarians could check materials in, sanitize, wipe down and return to the shelves for use. Hurrah!
We are so grateful for the very generous and caring donor. This one purchase has been a game changer for us. It allows us to get materials back into circulation in a timely manner, and most importantly, keeps our patrons safe during these trying times.
