Socially-distanced family activities organized in Eudora in the early days of the pandemic have faded away, but lessons learned during the pandemic continue to reverberate a year later.
After a stay-at-home order was issued in March 2020, parents struggled to keep their children engaged and entertained. The Eudora community was there to help.
The library transferred its children programs online and promoted digital resources. The Boredom Busters Facebook group was born to promote creative activities, like a Cardinal hunt or chalk drawings, and allow Eudora families to connect in a socially distant way.
As the world begins to open up a year later, Boredom Busters has ceased to be active and the library has started to move programs to in-person, outdoor events. However, they remember the impact of their efforts to keep the community together last spring.
Michelle Topil started the Boredom Busters page in March 2020. She said she stopped seeing the same level of participation from the group in the fall and eventually stopped organizing events.
“It was a lot of fun and a great way to get out of the house and be able to social distance, and be a community,” Topil said.
Topil, who has two children, said the pandemic made people focus on their families and the simple activities they could do with one another.
“The pandemic itself made people zone in on their own families, and think what can we do for our kids and for ourselves,” Topil said.
Mindy Frehe, the library’s youth services supervisor, said the libraryclosed for a couple of months at the start of the pandemic and offered only online services until the start of summer when it began curbside services. Frehe said these curbside services included “take and make” bags that included crafts and activities for children.
“It’s really been hard because we miss being in person with the kids, but we’ve been able to work around restrictions,” Frehe said.
The take-and-make bags will persist through 2021, as Frehe said the library received a grant to continue the program. Information and availability of the bags can be found on the Children’s Room and Teen Space Facebook page.
Crystal Hinman, a circulation librarian, has helped with curbside pick-ups and book delivery, which she said has grown since the pandemic and will continue to be available.
“We do all of our business in the parking lot,” Hinman said. “Which is not really as personal as being in the library.”
Beginning April 12, the library will open to the public for early morning browsing on weekdays from 9 a.m. until noon. In addition to in-person browsing this spring, the library has re-started outdoor events such as Singing Sarah and Outdoor Storytime.
Frehe said the library has moved its summer reading program online, and she sees it staying there in future years since the online format made it easier for participants to log their books.
The library saw a rise in the number of people who use its online resources, like Hoopla, during the pandemic, and Frehe said she thinks those programs will continue to be popular.
“It’s been surprising the Eudora community as a whole has been so understanding,” Frehe said. “People seem happy we’re able to get books out and things for them to do.”
Reach reporter Cami Koons at [email protected].
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