Online library offerings hit lockdown high
Behind the scenes at Western Bay of Plenty District Libraries a small team of staff has been committed to keeping library services alive and well during COVID-19 lockdown.
Libraries closed and all regular programmes ceased from 25 March, so staff stepped in to find ways of keeping the community connected through innovative ways the libraries could operate online.
During lockdown the staff maintained the following on the Libraries’ Facebook page:
- Pre-school and early primary age – e.g. sharing professionally recorded story times in English and Te Reo; Lego challenges; recycled craft ideas; home-based literacy activities; Easter and Anzac Day activities
- Tweens and teens activities including writing workshops, links to scientists and other experts
- Adults’ activities: Library humour; “interactive posts”; author suggestions and book reviews
- Keeping people connected with the library service: How to join; how to sign up for eBooks and other online resources; Tech Tips
- Archives/history, including the history we are living through now; feel good community related posts.
A surge in people using the libraries’ Facebook page shows that the team’s hard work has reaped rewards.
Lockdown revealed a 144% increase in Facebook Page Followers; a 200% increase in `Actions on Page’ and a 62% increase in `Post engagements’.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council Customer Experience Manager, Barbara Whitton, says the response across all levels of the libraries’ social media is fantastic and has involved many people who previously didn’t use these channels to connect with their library.
“As we move down the lockdown levels and into a new normal, we will take these people with us and continue to engage with them in a range of ways,” says Barbara.
“We also had increased enquiries from customers who wanted to update their membership and details to sign up for e-Resources. With our e-collection there has also been an increase of 95% in active users and 123% in loans compared to April last year.”
Another interesting find was the increase in people viewing Council’s Recollect site https://westernbay.recollect.co.nz/ during lockdown. Views on the site rocketed in April to 48,626 views – compared to 11,861 the previous month and 17,751 in April 2019.
“This incredible lift in views just shows how people want to connect with their local heritage and discover their own stories when they have a little more time on their hands,” says Barbara.
Council has a partner agreement with DNZ (Digital New Zealand), which takes Council’s content and displays it on their web site: https://digitalnz.org/. This is run and maintained by the National Library of New Zealand.
Barbara says the lift in digital interaction may mean more people will make use of social media in future due to Council’s increasing online offerings.
But other people will be looking forward to a return to face-to-face interaction and the knowledge, empathy and friendliness that comes with engaging with staff.
