Coronavirus Brookfield: The Library Steps Up In The Crisis

BROOKFIELD, CT — The hub of Brookfield's information and fine arts community is its library. The new coronavirus has shuttered it. Now what?

"We're still here," said Yvonne Cech, Brookfield Library director. She told Patch her staff is busy updating the library's website to provide as many digital library services as possible."We know people miss our storytimes and book clubs and other programs, so we are gearing up to provide web-based help."

Children's librarians Debbie Brooks and Meg Gill have teamed up with Teen Services librarian Abbey Lynch to sift through the all the available online resources for the library's youngest patrons.

"Our focus will be on curating a list of quality resources with an emphasis on reading and children's literature and related themes and activities," said Gill. Links to virtual storytimes and field trips are already in place.

"The Adult Services department has a wide variety of electronic resources for our patrons including Overdrive, where patrons can access e-books and audiobooks for free. Hoopla is our free streaming service where patrons can download movies and music. RBDigital is our digital service for magazines and newspapers, and we have databases which can be used to do research or investigate scholarly topics," said Paige Gallagher, Adult Services librarian.

In addition to curating links, Cech and her crew have been making original content, videos that teach residents how to use the library's digital resources. They are even providing laptops to Town employees forced to work from home, and wireless "hotspots" so that the school children in homes without internet access can stay up to speed with the new online curriculum.

Books and information, the librarians can deliver remotely and electronically. It's a tougher proposition to do that for fine art. Under Cech's leadership the library has become the hub of Brookfield's fine arts community, its influence felt throughout southwestern Connecticut. You can't send that in an email.

The new coronavirus hit Brookfield in the midst of an exhibit from wildlife photographers Jud Perkins and Pat Duncan, who have agreed to extend their exhibit through the end of April. But if the library remains closed after that, Cech says she will "have to reassess."

A committee of local residents which includes a retired art history professor assists Cech with the curating and outreach to the surrounding arts community.

The library space, already pretty much perfect for the exhibition of art, was augmented last year with a freshly painted Community Room, which has "provided kind of a blank canvas," and an optimal space to hold artist receptions, according to Cech.

"It's actually been even more successful than we had hoped. It's a great venue for area," Cech said.

Success in navigating the uncharted waters of a pandemic comes from "just knowing where there are areas of expertise on your team," Cech said. "And our staff has a lot of different areas of expertise. So we're we're not shy about trying new things, and the community is responding right now."