Plains Library staff steps up to help local citizens

A new director and staff who love the Plains area and want to help local residents are the key ingredients behind upgrades and improvements at the Plains Public Library.

Despite slowdowns and shutdowns brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak the librarians have been pro-active in their efforts to assess, adapt and overcome.

Led by new director Christine Shelton, the library has managed to remodel some of its indoor facilities while at the same time enhancing its electronic information equipment and services.

“The people in this area are so kind and caring,” Shelton said. “We want to provide more people, especially senior citizens, with the abilities to access technology and the services it can provide.”

That need was highlighted by the pandemic that isolated more senior citizens who have in a way been forced to learn basic systems that allow them to get goods and services from the library and their homes amid store and other business closures.

With that concept in mind, Shelton and top assistants Joan Bates and Nikki Andersen have been working to update equipment and develop programs to increase on-line abilities for those who may not currently be able to navigate computer systems.

“It can be a form of digital rot,” Shelton said. “If you have a computer but don’t know how to use it you can’t take advantage of the positives modern technology can provide.”

Those improvements will also benefit library patrons of all ages, she added, noting that “people will use these resources if they know we have them”.

For instance people can come to the library, download information onto a “thumb” drive with assistance from the staff and learn how to take that information home and access it on their own devices.

The library has been averaging approximately 1,300 “transactions” a month on the facility’s free-use computers, according to Ericksen. Transactions refers to a task carried out on a computer.

“We were able to get everything together at the last minute when the pandemic began,” Ericksen said. “The children’s reading programs have been going on as well as other programs. We have managed to maintain a balanced program.”

Future plans include acquiring virtual reality devices among other updates, Ericksen said.

“You can put the virtual reality goggles on and suddenly you are standing on the streets of downtown Hong Kong,” she said. “My kids already like the reality program that allows them to be on the space shuttle.”

In addition to the electronic improvements and plans, the staff has also been busy remodeling shelving and display mechanisms throughout the library to increase visibility and access to the thousands of books and periodicals that remain a vital part of the library’s offerings.

“A big part of the success of the library is having the public be aware of just how much we have to offer here,” said Bates, who showed the library’s “seed catalog”, a collection of flower and vegetable seeds with samples available at no cost to interested gardeners.

Of course there is a wide range of gardening information available.

Funding for these and other improvements are available through a dedicated mill levy approved by local voters. Those funds are also enhanced by donations from library fans, such as the group “Friends of the Library” and others.

“We couldn’t get things done without the support of people like the Friends of the Library,” Ericksen said.

But the key ingredient, according to Shelton is the spirit and hard work employed by the library staff.

“We have been behind in some areas we are working to improve,” Shelton said. “We will be offering more programs that teach people how to use the resources we have.”

She is confident the overall library success will be achieved.

“We all have our strengths but we are a team and we are dedicated to letting the public know how we can help and what we can provide,” Shelton said.