Improving during the pandemic: Great Barrington’s ‘Library of Things’

GREAT BARRINGTON — Like most operations, private and public, libraries have had to respond to modern times and the COVID-19 pandemic by changing the way they deliver services. And the Great Barrington libraries are no exception.

Gone are the days when libraries lent out books to patrons and little else. To wit, the Great Barrington library system, which includes the Mason downtown and the Ramsdell in Housatonic, has implemented a new program at the Ramsdell called the “Library of Things.”

“It launched literally when COVID struck,” said Great Barrington libraries director Amanda DeGiorgis. “We received a $9,800 grant from the federal government … to create a library of things at Ramsdell.”

DeGiorgis was giving an update on the library system Wednesday during a Coffee with the Town Manager session on Zoom with Town Manager Mark Pruhenski. See video below of the session:

The grant came from the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), the only federal program exclusively for libraries. Essentially, a Library of Things program allows patrons to check out objects instead of books.

What kinds of objects? DeGiorgis said Housatonic, with its historic mills, “has a very rich history of making,” so the program started off with things such as sewing machines, hand looms, video cameras, podcast equipment, and virtual-reality goggles.

“Then COVID happened, so we invested in power washers, drills, ice cream makers, staple guns, and laminators,” DeGiorgis said. “People can check them out and give them a try for three weeks. It was a great way to make the Ramsdell a destination for a very special collection. It has grown and people are actually donating items. We have a 3-D printer that we are going to hook up that can be used at Ramsdell. It was too big to take back and forth.”

A complete list of items is available on the GB libraries’ website. Most of the items were purchased by the Great Barrington library system. All patrons need to borrow them is a local library card. DeGiorgis said she believed Pittsfield is the only other public library system locally that has such a program.

There is even a school of thought that says a Library of Things can save citizens money. For more information, see an article in The Guardian entitled “The library of things: could borrowing everything from drills to disco balls cut waste and save money?“

As for the rest of her programs, DeGiorgis said the last few years have “been a rollercoaster.” When the pandemic first reared its ugly head in March 2020, the libraries went from being fully open to being flat-out closed.

Pruhenski also implemented a round of cutbacks, including the furloughing of nine part-time and three full-time employees in the town’s public library system. And of course, the libraries have often been the target of those advocating for budget cuts, most recently in 2018. 

For the current fiscal year, the library system’s budget is $576,000. That amount does not include the town’s pension and health insurance contributions for library workers, both of which are included in other areas of the town budget.

DeGiorgis said during the first couple of months of the initial shutdown, regular patrons would “call and just want to talk because they hadn’t seen anyone in days.” The libraries quickly instituted curbside pick-up, which DeGiorgis described as “interesting and helpful.”

The libraries are now fully open, though DeGiorgis added that, “the people coming are very cautious, some more so than others.” The study rooms have also reopened, though there is not a lot of in-person programming. 

There have been some concerns about the ventilation in the two buildings, both of which are more than 100 years old. The Mason was last renovated in 2007 and the Ramsdell is slated for a renovation that will make it more accessible to the handicapped.

“The use of libraries now is very different from when both buildings were built,” DeGiorgis explained.

Family programming is still conducted mostly via Zoom, as is a lot of the programming for adults. Interestingly, virtual programming has seen better attendance than in-person events. In addition, DeGiorgis has been able to draw from a wider range of lecturers from farther afield because there are no travel expenses for the presenters. 

“We are able to offer a lot more … than we did before,” DeGiorgis said.