LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Being closed to the public hasn't stopped the Lexington Public Library from bringing its programs to the community. If you take a quick look at their Facebook page, you'll see just how busy staff members have been in the last few weeks.
When the library closed March 13th, staff thought it would be short-term, but as we've seen, that wasn't the case. It's still unknown just when the library will reopen, but e-books and plenty of programs are only a click away.
"Our responsibility is to the public," said development director Anne Donworth. "We are ultimately a public entity, and our responsibility is to do what we can to serve the public. If we can't do that in person, then how do we do it?"
That mindset sparked a series of daily programs through Facebook live, like storytimes, sing-alongs, and craft lessons. The programs aren't all just for kids.
"We've done some poetry readings. Genealogy is always a hugely popular thing for us in person and online," said Donworth. "Then a lot of how-to things, like how do people access their library card online if they haven't done that."
Donworth says they've seen just how handy going virtual can be for those who use the library system.
"This really broadens our audience," she said. "We need to make it easier for people to access library services once we are able to reopen, and I think our virtual programming hopefully will be allowed to thrive even after we are able to do in-person programming as well."
When it comes to the library's popular summer reading program, Donworth says they hope to move that online too.
