By Maddy Van Clieaf, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
July 23rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington Public Library, BPL, has served as a community hub for information, engagement and literacy since 1872. With the unprecedented events of the pandemic, the library has transformed into a space for community support, equity and inclusivity.
Lita Barrie, CEO and President of BPL
Lita Barrie, CEO and President of BPL, and her team of librarians and staff have been working throughout the pandemic with other community groups and libraries to establish comprehensive services that capture the community’s needs.
The library worked in two ways to accommodate the community. Barrie explained that “it was about what we could do in our capacity as the library to help keep our community safe and our staff safe.”
Just as Burlington shifted online, the library closed its doors on March 13, 2020. Staff and patrons alike adapted to the digital format, with the library seeing a 103% increase in eCheckouts.
This might be social distancing to the extreme.
To respond to the increased demand for online services, BPL transformed their website into a ‘virtual branch’ offering a wide variety of staff picks eBooklists, online learning resources and activities for children at home, as well as a list of community resources for those in need.
As well, a partnership with the Mississauga, Hamilton, London and Ottawa Public Libraries boosted BPL’s digital book collection, expanding the total digital collections to 330,000+ titles.
All the pandemic did for the library was increase the demand for something to read.
Barrie continued, “The second way BPL accommodated the community was in trying to adapt to whatever constraints the pandemic was presenting at one time or another to provide meaningful library service. Part of what we tried to reimagine through the pandemic is how we could continue to be open to the community while our physical branches couldn’t be.”
Reimagining the way a library works and functions in the community means the services provided by the library are constantly changing to adapt. They provide for a broad demographic; young kids learning to read, students, and senior citizens.
Maddy Van Clieaf is a second year journalism student at Carleton University. She is with the Gazette as part of the federal governments Local Journalism initiative.
