By the Mount Prospect Public Library Staff
In March of 2020, the Mount Prospect Public Library — along with the rest of the world — had our lives turned upside down by the global COVID-19 pandemic. We closed the library buildings on March 15, and immediately started figuring out how to provide library services to our community during lockdown. Our goal was to continue to allow the community to use the library, even if it was in different ways than usual.
In the last days before we closed in March, patrons checked out all that they could carry to prepare for lockdown. “Take all you want, no limits,” we said, and we removed all fines during the closure. In June of 2020, the Board of announced a Fine Amnesty Day, clearing all MPPL fines – even pre-pandemic fines – from patron accounts. The library officially went permanently fine-free in April 2021.
One of the first changes we made in March was expanding and increasing our wireless
internet signal. This allowed anyone to use Wi-Fi in front of the building or in the parking garage to be available 24/7.
Staff answered chat, text, e-mail and phone questions and offered Reference by Appointment sessions from home while the library building was closed. We implemented online self-registration for library cards so that patrons could access our popular online services while the building and its physical collections were unavailable. Within days of lockdown, community members discovered electronic resources and services using their library card from home, checking out thousands of e-media items.
While buildings were closed, we knew that some patrons needed access to computers. In June 2020, we offered computer use by appointment. This allowed patrons to use a computer and scan and print documents.
We moved our programming to the virtual realm, creating programs for all ages on Zoom and YouTube. The library distributed outreach craft kits to connect with children and families throughout the community, and to share information about library programs and services.
While we were closed, we built one of our most successful and defining services in 2020: Parking Lot Pickup. This brand-new service was created from the ground up at both the Main Library and South Branch. This key service safely placed library materials into the hands of our patrons, and we received immediate positive feedback from the community when we launched the service on June 1, 2020.
We reopened the buildings on July 6 with many safety measures: PPE, masking, social distancing, capacity limits, and time limits in the buildings. Over the summer, patrons continued to visit us safely and we held a variety of socially distanced outdoor events at the library and various parks.
With the fall 2020 COVID wave, the library buildings once again closed to patrons on November 16. Library staff quickly pivoted back to Parking Lot Pickup, phone, text, chat, and e-mail reference services, and virtual programs. We re-opened to the public on February 1, 2021.
The library is fortunate to have professional, forward-thinking, and dedicated staff. It is their efforts, ideas, and actions that enabled the library to provide the many creative solutions to pandemic challenges. They have proven to have the motivation, innovation, and inspiration to make the impossible, possible.
