By Briana Bizier
Sometimes it feels like the COVID-19 pandemic has changed
everything. As we adjust to working from home or working while wearing a face
mask, helping our children with hybrid and distance learning, and the
awkwardness of Zoom dinner parties, our community connections have become more
important than ever.
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| The Raymond Village Library is not fully funded by the town of Raymond and nearly half of the library's budget comes from grants and private donations collected during their fall Annual Appeal, now under way. FILE PHOTO |
This investment in our community is especially crucial
during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Raymond Village Library has played an
essential role in helping Raymond residents navigate this strange and
unprecedented time.
As soon as Maine’s
COVID restrictions allowed, the Raymond Village Library began offering curbside
pickup of books, movies, and children’s materials. The initial curbside pickup
program was incredibly well received.
“Our
pick-up was so popular we started running out of bags for the books,” said
Allison Griffin, Director of the Raymond Village Library. This service is still
available through phone, email, and the library’s website at
www.raymondvillagelibrary.org.
As
the entire world stayed at home and much of our lives moved online, the free
internet connection offered by Raymond Village Library became more important
than ever. Generous community donations this fall allowed the library to
provide additional outdoor seating around picnic tables so that the wi-fi was
easily accessible even if the library was closed. In addition to providing
internet service, the library also has a professional Zoom account, so that
library events, such as the monthly book club or community classes, can be held
safely online.
Some of the most perennially popular activities at the
Raymond Village Library are the weekly baby and toddler story time hours. When
social distancing requirements made those gatherings impossible, Children’s Librarian Karen Perry got creative.
The library now offers weekly Story Time At Home kits complete with crafts,
books, and songs to help encourage a love of literacy in even the littlest library
patrons. These kits, as well as teen and tween crafts, are available every week
and are always free of charge.
In addition to the take-home Story Time kits, Perry also created two popular outdoor Story Walks. The first, Jack in the Beanstalk, wound its way around the Raymond Community Garden this summer while the second, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, follows the store window fronts in the Raymond Shopping Center.
All of these activities are only possible thanks to the generosity of Raymond Village Library patrons. Unfortunately, even as the pandemic has made so many library services invaluable, it also has disrupted many of the library’s traditional fundraising activities. The Raymond Village Library truly needs our help this year more than ever.
The library’s
2020 Annual Appeal aims to raise $40,000. This amount will allow the library to
expand staff hours in addition to continuing regular (or, regular for the
pandemic) services. Donations to the Raymond Village Library are accepted in
person, through the mail, or at their website: www.raymondvillagelibrary.org. Contributions of any
amount will allow the Raymond Village Library to continue providing books and
activities to babies and toddlers, internet access to students completing their
work online, new books to homebound seniors, and classes to all members of our
community. Together, let’s make sure our library remains available for all our
friends and neighbors during this difficult time. <
