The Kirkland Town Library was not spared when pandemic guidelines were put into place in mid-March.
The Clinton library had to close and just recently re-opened with limited access. “The library was such a community center for so many people,” Anne Debraggio, director of the KTL, said regarding the closure. “That’s our goal, even if we can’t be what we were before, we can still be that community center for people.”
The pandemic has “helped all of us be more aware of how we can continue to provide equal access for people,” Debraggio said.
“For us, I think the hardest thing was having our doors closed,” she said of Covid-19. “I honestly think that was the toughest thing. It’s very hard for us to have to say no to somebody, and we weren’t able to help people at a time when it would have been nice to be able to do that.”
Laura Stoll, assistant to the director, said the day before KTL was forced to close its doors to the public, the librarians had trouble keeping up with the demand for books.
“People were pouring through the door. People were walking out with stacks of books up to their chin. People came because they knew they could get what they needed here that was going to help them get through whatever was coming,” Stoll said.
“It was really amazing to see how many people, when they knew they weren’t going to be able to go out, went to the library,” she said.
The library has limited houses for browsing and checking out...