Five Towns libraries are Zooming through Covid

The two public libraries in the Five Towns are familiar with attracting crowds of people that are so large you cannot find parking in their respective lots.

Since the beginning of coronavirus pandemic Hewlett-Woodmere and Peninsula public libraries have weathered the storm by continuing to hold virtual events.

Hewlett-Woodmere in Hewlett hosts a variety of events for all ages on Zoom and are beginning to bring a couple of events inside. Library Director William Ferro thinks Zoom has been good for certain programs and difficult for other ones.

“The lectures have been popular; story time has been popular but there have been difficulties with keeping kids in front of a computer screen,” he said. “We are holding story time in-person and in our courtyard and continue to use social distancing.”

Zoom has helped the library overcome its space problem when holding simultaneous events. “In the past it is difficult to have multiple programs at the same time because we were really limited on space, and we have always been limited on parking,” Ferro said. “While we were doing everything by zoom, we did not have any of these restrictions. I was able to have children's programs and adult programs at the same time because there was not a physical constraint.”

Nadine Connors, the program director for Hewlett-Woodmere library, has had a plethora of programs that were successful while she worked from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

“When we had closed, we did not know how long it would be,” she said. “We continued programs such as a reading and socializing group for adults 21 and older who have physical or mental disabilities.

“I did about one program a day, we brought back an informal discussion for seniors who discuss current events which has been great,” Connors added. “In the end, everything worked out very well. Moving forward we will do some sort of hybrid where you can watch certain events from home or come into the building. Zoom has helped members of the community who are isolated, so this technology has helped us reach out to them.”

Peninsula library Director Carolynn Matulewicz said her Lawrence facility found similar success throughout the past year. “Since we started Zoom programing our cliental has expended,” she said. “A lot of our seniors who were homebound and lonely were appreciative of connecting with the library. It allowed us to bring in a lot of other people who would not be able to come to the library via Zoom because now they are doing it from their homes which has been more cost effective for us that way, we would not be able to pay for their transportation.”

Peninsula held all its programs on Zoom throughout the pandemic, which has its cons and pros, Matulewicz said. “You cannot make the connection from Zoom; people connect with each other at the library, and on Zoom it is not always interactive,” she said. “The positive side is we cannot have 150 people at the library, but we can have them on a Zoom program.”

Peninsula library also plans on having some events in-person at the library starting next month. “We did not start any in-person programming, but we will be starting an art lecture September 1 as a hybrid,” Matulewicz said. “We have scheduled events at the library for October and November. People have come back and are happy to be here, their happy to touch the books and browse.”