Photo courtesy of Bob Schneider

By Scott Roblin

Community Donation

E-book donation helping ease sting of layoffs for Medicine Hat Library

Apr 14, 2020 | 5:58 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Tuesday was among the toughest days for the Medicine Hat Public Library since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in North America one month ago.

After hanging on for as long as they could, the library was forced to temporarily lay off the majority of its staff after shutting its doors to the public in recent weeks.

“A lot of our staff, there just wasn’t the work for them that there normally would be,” said chief librarian Ken Feser. “So, we are sad to say that we did initiate layoffs of about 64 percent of our staff today.”

A glimmer of silver lining has helped ease further layoffs for Feser however, as the library was the recipient of a $1,000 donation recently from a local couple.

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The money was requested to be used towards enhancing the library’s e-book and e-audio book collections, with the donor calling the resources a ‘life saver.’

“This has been a very hard time to make decisions,” said Feser. “Are we doing the right thing? What’s the balance between safety and offering services? So, it’s been really heartening to hear from the community that people do value what we are doing.”

E-books have been the preferred method of delivering library resources out to the community over the past month, allowing those inclined to pick up a book to still access resources.

“We are trying to keep our heads up and keep delivering services,” said Feser. “We do have online resources, e-books, e-audio [books] and those sort of things. We are also doing a pickup service where people can order books on the phone and we’ll deliver them out.”

Despite not being listed as an essential service, Feser added the pandemic has brought out a lot of stress and wanted to let to the community know that their reading materials are still accessible.

“People are isolated, they’re stressed, they’re bored, all these sorts of things are happening,” said Feser. “So, having these kinds of resources maybe helps somebody get through the day, fill the time, learn something that they need to know.”

Those wishing to access e-books and other library resources can visit the Medicine Hat Public Library’s website.