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DARTMOUTH LIBRARY
Rowena W
hen the first set of customers walked into the library armed with
their library cards and a smile (behind their masks of course!) staff breathed a big sigh of relief. “It was great to see people back in here, that’s what this place is for.” Rowena has been in charge for the past 15 years and missed being in the library and seeing customers during lockdown. “The whole idea is that people meet in here - they chat, browse and leave happy.” Like so many other non-essential facilities, Dartmouth Library shut up shop in March and staff had to think of new ways to deliver their services to the people who needed them most. “We started a ‘Choose and
Collect’ service where people could request a specific book or half a dozen books from a particular genre - let’s say romance or science fiction. We would then put them in a paper bag at the back door ready for customers to pick up.”
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Staff at Dartmouth Library are hoping bookworms will start to browse the shelves again this Autumn. The facility has been open since July, but customers have been slow to return. The team say many people are still unsure about venturing out and the busy end of the season crowds, although good for the town’s economy, have meant nervous customers have stayed indoors. Rowena Marshall is in charge, she spoke to our reporter Steph Woolvin...
Rowena and her team wanted to make sure everyone was being looked after and a spirit of fun was maintained: “We organised online quizzes and book reviews. We had Lego challenges where we asked children to build something like a robot and we posted pictures on our social media sites. We had some very creative entries to our ‘acting out book covers’ project which encouraged people to depict the front cover of a book using props and costumes from around the house!“
“This is a safe place and it always has been and we’d like to gain trust from those anxious to come out.”
We had some very creative entries to our ‘acting out book covers’ project.
A highlight of Rowena’s job is the monthly book clubs, which she holds in the library and at Sainsbury’s café and she was determined to keep them going even during lockdown. “I usually get 10 to 12 people for each session and they wanted to continue so I organised Zoom groups and we carried on meeting and discussing books, but from the comfort of our own homes. Most people managed to master the technology and it was something to look forward to each month.” They also took the children’s annual Summer Reading Challenge online. The
holiday programme encourages youngsters to read books and record their views in return for a certificate, medal and a variety of stickers. “It certainly didn’t attract the usual high numbers who enjoy coming into the library each week to show us their forms and change their book, but some children still took part and received a virtual certificate.” When the library re-opened they took safety measures very seriously - with a quarantine area for returned books which need to
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