Covid Shaming

So there is shaming out there if one even thinks about doing anything short of social distancing and there is shaming for doing too much social distancing.  I've gotten negative feedback both on having "curbside pickup" AND when we abandoned it.  A recent editorial in the Monitor shamed the NH Library Association for recommending that libraries be closed.  A gentleman from Mont Vernon wrote :
Therefore, I am dismayed that the New Hampshire Library Association has recommended that all municipal libraries close their doors. They state that this was a hard decision, but as I see it, it really was the easy way out.

Bottom Line, we can't win.  I confess, I find the hysteria annoying, but we're in uncharted territory and need to listen to the authorities who we hope are relying on good data.  The problem is, we're not getting much in the way of guidance.  Libraries are not getting consistent guidance from the state or national level, so we are left to our own devices. 

Here in Hopkinton we have beefed up (with apologies to vegetarians) our online resources and have been available to the public via email and phone.  We are getting a steady drip of calls and emails, but not as many as we would like and not as many as we can handle.  And online resources do not work for everyone, so we're currently looking at the possibility of adding a home delivery of books (and other library materials) program in conjunction with "Hopkinton Helps", which the Hopkinton Human Services Department is running.  We would use their volunteers--not develop a parallel system.  Details to follow.  One thing that is certain, we would not want the items to be returned until after we reopen and we would probably only do this once or twice each week and limit the number of items to circulate (perhaps five)...TBD.

I'd love to hear from you on this.  You can email me at ddunlop@hopkintontownlibrary.org with your thoughts.  Input welcome.  But no covid shaming please. 

And here is a great image just sent to me by my daughter for your viewing pleasure.  A variation on a piece by Botticelli.  This plague has resulted in some very creative thinking....