Libraries Without Borders US
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Meeting people where they are: Innovative Solutions in the COVID-19 Era
As COVID-19 spread around the world, LWB US and our project partners made concerted efforts to rethink what digital literacy and information access looks like in the midst of a pandemic. We constantly found ourselves reimagining what it means to meet people where they are with the resources they need most, this time with the newfound obstacle of adhering to sanitary measures and social distancing guidelines. Throughout, we remained (and continue to remain) committed to prioritizing the voices and experiences of our constituents and local partners. Our partnerships led to innovative projects even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this blog we will be highlighting the stories of two of them: The Saint Paul Public Library Bookmobile and a digitally-equipped learning hub in Loíza, Puerto Rico.
At the start of the pandemic, LWB US decided to temporarily pause its Wash and Learn Initiative (WALI) programming at the Giant Wash Coin Laundry in Saint Paul, Minnesota. However, our anchor partner —the Saint Paul Public Library (SPPL)— ensured that a pause in indoor programming would not mean the end of WALI. Instead, SPPL began bringing their library Bookmobile to the Giant Wash every Wednesday, making sure that laundromat patrons could continue benefiting from WALI, even during the pandemic.
The Bookmobile is an SPPL project that distributes digital, educational, and literary resources at various sites across the Twin Cities. Phasoua Vang, responsible for the execution of SPPL’s Bookmobile outreach project, walked us through how to connect community members and laundromat patrons to books and other critical resources while maintaining social distancing boundaries:
"Adding Bookmobile stops at laundromat sites allowed us to go out to our community in order to share resources, materials, and engage with our patrons in a socially distanced manner. Our engineers created plexiglass and hand sanitizer stands. We encouraged patrons and families to wear masks, use hand sanitizer, and practice social distancing. Most of the services delivered were from the Bookmobile in the parking lot with safety precautions in place and with so much joy.”
Through the safety measures detailed by Vang, the Bookmobile has become a welcomed resource for many communities battling COVID-19 across the Twin Cities.
In our work, however, we understand how important it is to adapt every program to each and every community’s specific needs. For this reason, in Loíza, Puerto Rico, our efforts to connect community members to critical digital and literary resources look quite different. In the fall, LWB US partnered with the local organization, Link Puerto Rico, to improve digital access and equity in Sector La 23 y Las Gardenias—a low-income and under-resourced neighborhood in Loíza, Puerto Rico. While these efforts initially began with the distribution of ConnectED Tech Kits, we quickly realized that the need for technology vastly outweighed our supply of tech. So, we transitioned to instead designing a socially-distant, physical, and accessible learning space in the Sector La 23 y Las Gardenias community center. Link Puerto Rico CEO, President, and Co-Founder, Fabián Vélez, and Director of Operations, Manuel Pons, explained the need for such a space, and what COVID-19 meant for its development:
“We established the need for the learning hub in Puerto Rico after a number of community surveys and research about the needs of the community for internet connectivity and access to technology, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"COVID-19 affected the planning, realization and design of the community center because we had to take into account the CDC guidelines for how to establish the learning center. We also had to find creative ways to extend the reach of the technology outside the physical boundaries of the center to maximize its impact in the community.”
Similar to the Bookmobile, this digitally-equipped Learning Hub carefully considered what residents needed to optimize their learning, work, social, and personal lives in the midst of a pandemic. By developing programs around community needs, instead of placing a one-size-fits-all model in every location, LWB US and our partners are able to design innovative and intentional programs that cater to the distinct, dynamic needs of each community.
On what they hope for the future, Vang, Vélez, and Pons have similar goals in mind. Vang shares.
“My hope is that we continue to engage with our families and communities in the ways that they need. I hope we learn just as much from them about what they need and what brings them joy so that we can continue to do our best work. We’ve given away books, back-to-school kits, STEM kits, and have had meaningful conversations and engagements with so many folks at the Giant Wash site.”
Vélez and Pons point out similar digital access goals:
“Our hope is that, eventually, the whole community has free access to a fast and reliable internet connection along with up to date equipment to take advantage of this infrastructure.”
