Taking it to the screens: Library programs go online

By Donna Williams Lewis

You might never need to know how to tie a bow tie, but there’s something soothing during a global pandemic about watching a little Facebook video of Decatur librarian David Russell teaching the technique. Posted a few weeks before COVID-19 shut libraries down, it was Russell’s first foray into producing video for the masses. What the reference librarian didn’t know then was that video production was about to become a big part of his life.

For years, library systems have been offering their members digital products such as ebooks, audiobooks, movies and music on services such as

Libby and Hoopla.

But as the coronavirus quarantine took hold this year, metro area librarians immersed themselves in new ways to connect with their communities through homegrown, online programming.

Zooming through technical learning curves, librarians have become video producers. They’re doing everything from live-streaming book club meetings and mindfulness meditation sessions to posting story times for kids and adults. They offer virtual gardening, cooking and yoga classes and hosting online game and trivia nights.

And it’s all free. No library card required.

‘We’re on their feed’

Until quarantine, social media was primarily used by DeKalb County libraries to inform people about programs they could attend at library branches, said Myguail Chappel, manager of DeKalb County Public Library’s Take-Out Services.

“We were using it as a way to get people into our doors,” Chappel said.

Now, the library is using social media to reach online audiences of unlimited proportions. Meanwhile, social media is helping the library raise its profile as people add library sites to the mix of Facebook, YouTube and Instagram pages they follow, Chappel said.

“Where before the library may have been an afterthought … now, I think everyday that they use their social media we’re on offer them something that will help them in their life some type of way or give them some type of respite from their current worries.” their feed. So they’re always thinking about us as a resource,” said Chappel, who produced a video on allergy relief for the library. “Hopefully, through following us, we will

Libraries typically offer instruction on navigating the digital resources they employ. That’s a good thing in a time when people of all ages have been forced into the virtual life. Story times that routinely drew 30 to 40 people to the Decatur Library are drawing hundreds of views online.

Elisabeth Harris, youth services librarian at the Tucker Library, has enjoyed the challenge of learning how to upload, download and edit her videos into “something publishable.”

A speaker of four languages, she performs the song “Bingo” in

French, and with the help of her dog, Cooper, in a Facebook video shot at her home.

She was thrilled when a parent sent her a video of their daughter singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” in Italian — something she’d learned from watching Harris.

“I’m getting emotional,” Harris said, recalling her story time regulars. “I really miss them an awful lot.”

‘Calm in a time of chaos’

In addition to staff-produced content, the DeKalb library system offers programming by contract performers such as Atlanta harpist Angelica Hairston, whose Facebook video concert has drawn more than 5,000 views.

The highly lauded artistic director of the nonprofit Urban Youth Harp Ensemble performed the live, hour-long program on May 18.

“For me, it was a time for thinking, ‘What are the songs that make me feel calm in a time of chaos?’” Hairston said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic.

The first song she performed was “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

Russell’s tie video was an offshoot of the “tiebrary” he started at the Decatur Library. Known for the bow ties he wears to work, Russell lends ties from his large personal collection to library patrons who need ties for job interviews, court dates at the county courthouse a block away or for other important events.

“So many people don’t know how to tie a bow tie and they think it’s a super hard process,” he said. By the end of May, his video had snagged 871 views.

“I think the thing about librarians is we find ways to help on a shoestring budget … in quiet ways, where people can still have their dignity,” Russell said. “That’s what we do, day in and

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