Oct 26 2020
In an opinion piece in the Guardian, the head of Suffolk Libraries in the East of England explains "why lockdown was the plot twist that libraries needed."
...It is often said librarians suffer from a marketing issue. This is a profession hardwired not to boast about itself. But lockdown forced us to confront and subvert this mindset to ensure that people knew that we were still very much functioning and there were plenty of ways to access our services. A new report by the Carnegie UK Trust shows how successful these efforts were. It found that one in three people in the UK engaged with libraries during lockdown, despite the closures. It seems libraries didn’t just speak up, but nigh on shouted out during lockdown, and we are determined to maintain this noise as the country begins to reopen.
A substantial part of this success came through a significant increase in ebook borrowing – with 465,200 digital issues between April and July – a pattern reflected across the country, according to figures from Libraries Connected. Feedback from eLibrary users ranged from “thank you for still providing something” to “I never knew I could get all of this for free!” We had hundreds of new signups to these digital services...
The House on Biscayne Bay
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As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Flower Sisters
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From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
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