Good day! Please excuse cross-postings: New America has just released a snapshot study on how-or if-people were discovering, accessing, and using their public libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on materials that libraries made available online. They also explored how various libraries were adapting to the crisis. Results from the study show a meaningful shift toward the use of online resources and high levels of goodwill for public libraries and what they make available online. But the study also illuminates a host of significant challenges for libraries to overcome, particularly in improving their outreach and services to people of color, people in low-income households, and those who do not have adequate access to the internet at home. You can attend a webinar discussing the report on March 22. Register for the webinar<https://maine-msl.libcal.com/event/7611922> online through our Maine CE Calendar. You can download and read Public Libraries and the Pandemic: Digital Shifts and Disparities to Overcome<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd1y8sb8igg2f8e.cloudfront.net%2Fdocuments%2FPublic_Libraries_and_the_Pandemic.pdf&data=04%7C01%7CLisa.M.Shaw%40maine.gov%7C50a0a189642f4d0075eb08d8e3425873%7C413fa8ab207d4b629bcdea1a8f2f864e%7C0%7C0%7C637509221386184946%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=YqeZ%2FtJniE0sRwmZFigK1YUq1Z2bP72SqZZhqu74EWs%3D&reserved=0> (March 2021). Respectfully, Lisa Lisa M. Shaw (Pronouns: she/her) Maine State Library - Library Development Rural & Small Libraries/Workforce Development Specialist 64 State House Station Augusta ME 04333-0064 (207) 217-1565 (mobile) [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> https://www.maine.gov/msl/libs/index.shtml https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisanealshaw/ Dator's Law: "Any useful statement about the future should at first seem ridiculous." [Jim Dator]
