Resident writes personal letter of thanks to Warwickshire Libraries staff ~ and free ‘Bug Hunt’ boxes are delivered to isolated customersWarwickshire Libraries staff who have been making contac...
Resident writes personal letter of thanks to Warwickshire Libraries staff ~ and free ‘Bug Hunt’ boxes are delivered to isolated customers
Warwickshire Libraries staff who have been making contactless doorstep deliveries of books to vulnerable people during the Covid-19 pandemic were delighted to receive a personal letter of thanks from one resident, who called the service ‘a lifeline’.
Over 243 new library customers across the county have signed up to the service since the start of the pandemic, with 10 new customers asking to receive book deliveries in the past week alone.
Fifty doorstep book delivery customers, who are still shielding from Covid-19 by isolating themselves, have also just received a free ‘Great British Bug Hunt’ box from Graduate Planet along with their regular library book deliveries.
The resident, from Coleshill, wrote the letter to send Warwickshire Libraries staff their “deepest thanks for delivering library books for me to read during ‘lockdown’.”
“I have never experienced such loneliness as I have during my three months of total isolation. The books, especially ‘The Railway Detective’ by Edward Marston, have been a lifeline.
“Through reading your books I have been able to ‘escape’ the life I have at the moment and become completely absorbed in the story lines. So thank you each one of you.”
Other vulnerable residents from across the county have said that that have been “overwhelmed” by the support they have received from Warwickshire Libraries and Communities during the pandemic.
Contactless doorstep deliveries of books was just one of the special services that was developed for residents who are self-isolating and, last week, 118 book deliveries were made across Warwickshire, with staff delivering 590 books in total.
One Rugby resident told Warwickshire Libraries staff, “Your call has come at just the right time – I’m climbing the walls without having any books to read! Thank you so much.”
It is hoped that the ‘Great British Bug Hunt’ boxes will bring further pleasure to libraries customers that need to stay at home, with each box containing three beautiful pollinator plants along with a pack full of puzzles, bee and bird spotting guides and activities they can do to improve their knowledge of garden wildlife.
Regular befriending telephone calls is another service that has been developed for self-isolating residents by Warwickshire Libraries.
One Warwick district resident told staff over the phone, “I’m very grateful to know that if anything happens to my son, who is supporting me at the moment, that there is back up and that I can call for help.”
Councillor Kam Kaur, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation, said:
“The whole offer from our libraries service is about supporting the health and wellbeing of our residents – and the comments that we have received from people across the county that are receiving these special services speak for themselves.
“It’s wonderful to hear the messages of appreciation for our County Council staff. By offering these services we hope that we are making this time – often without support from anyone else – easier to cope with and more enjoyable.”
The PressReader service, which enables Warwickshire Libraries customers to download eNewspapers for free, has also proved to be extremely popular with residents since ‘lockdown’ began.
“The newspapers, not all about Covid 19, include other world news and fashion and gardening, and it’s given me something to talk about with my daughter and two grandsons who live in a different part of the county,” said the Coleshill resident in their letter of thanks.
In the past week, Warwickshire Libraries customers have read over 104,000 eNewspaper issues through PressReader.
The digital service enables you to read a wide variety of worldwide publications on your device, whether that is your mobile phone, tablet or computer, through their websites and apps.
All you need to access these for free are your library card number and email address.
If you’re not already a member you can join online, visit https://library.warwickshire.gov.uk/ and click ‘Join Online’. Warwickshire Libraries will send you your membership number and then you can get started straight away!
To access the special book delivery service, you need to be without support at this time and a Warwickshire Libraries member – if you aren’t already a member, you can join by telephone or online.
If you are interested in receiving this services, or know someone who might be, please email: libraryenquiryteam@warwickshire.gov.uk or phone 0300 555 8171 and leave a message.