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5.5 <br />Library Services Coordinator Report -Board Meeting —126 2021 <br />The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly had its effects on circulation at the library, with being closed fully <br />for almost a month from mid -March to mid -April and with doing curbside only for 3 months until we re- <br />opened in mid -July. We ended 2020 with a circulation decrease of 36.7 percent. However, for the <br />month of December 2020, our circulation was up 6.8 percent compared to December of 2019. So, our <br />trend is the right direction, and we hope to continue that trend. <br />Staffing at Elk River has also been greatly affected by the pandemic. However, we have recently <br />promoted one of our staff to fill an open library assistant position, and have hired a new employee in <br />our library aide position. We are currently accepting applications for two aide openings, and hope to <br />have those filled quickly. In the interim, we have been very fortunate to have experienced staff from <br />our Becker/Big Lake branches, as well as St. Michael branch, who have stepped in to sub, and have kept <br />the customer service experience seamless for our Elk River patrons. <br />Our focus and goals have shifted as we look at how we can continue to provide our core services of <br />access to the collection, as well as access to technology. Programs and events are not our priority focus <br />at this time, however, we have added back our monthly adult book club and our monthly "Schooled in <br />Art" program for school age children. Our next step will be exploring a virtual return to our storytimes. <br />Our goals for 2021 focus on access to core services, technology, and programs for our distance learning <br />students, homeschool families in our community, and other patrons where there may be a service gap. <br />We want to safely provide services while continuing to work within the limitations of the pandemic <br />mandates in order to mitigate the virus for our patrons and staff. <br />