The world has seen a lot of changes in 2020, and Grand County Library District has been no exception.

The Grand County Library District’s physical collection of books, DVDs, magazines, and physical objects were inaccessible during our stay-at-home orders, but use of our online resources soared to the stars.

GCLD added the New York Times as a new online resource to our eBooks & Learning Tools page in May. Patrons were thrilled to access this resource for breaking news, reviews and opinions, business, sports, travel, books, education and more.

Online Denver Post views peaked in April, with patrons clamoring to read Colorado news and national headlines. March of 2020 saw more than five times the number of GCLD patrons than in 2019. NewsBank, Inc., the provider of GCLD’s subscription to the online Denver Post, added a useful banner for reliable COVID-19 announcements, news, information and links to “Hot Topics” and “Special Reports.”

For those needing a break from the 24/7 news reports, people explored courses using Creativebug and Universal Class. “Daily Painting Challenge: 31 Flowers to Paint” and “Building a Creative Brand” were the top Creativebug classes. Universal Class reported “Assertiveness Training” and “American Heroes and Villains” as the most viewed classes.

Some patrons took advantage of time at home to research genealogy using “My Heritage,” with usage more than doubling from February to March and doubling again in April.

Additional funding for OverDrive eBooks and audiobooks was designated, since the average cost is close to four times the cost of a physical book and need to be re-purchased after a year or two. In 2020, GCLD patrons checked out over 4,000 more OverDrive books from January through June than during the same time frame in 2019. This equates to an expenditure of approximately $6,500 over the projected line item budget.

In May, Erin Fisher, Director of Vintage, formerly Alpine Area Agency on Aging, contacted GCLD to see if extra funding for low vision equipment would be useful during COVID-19. Absolutely! GCLD was fortunate to receive $1,500 to use toward our OverDrive collection as eBooks and audiobooks meet the requirements of low vision equipment.

What titles were popular in Grand County during a pandemic stay-at-home order? The answer: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (37 checkouts), “Long Range: Joe Pickett Series, Book 20” (23), and “American Dirt” (20) were the top three.

Now that GCLD branches are open for curbside pick-up, check out our newest children’s collection, Read-Alongs, physical books with built-in audio. We purchased 70 titles with a $3,000 Bessie Minor Swift Grant awarded to the Friends of GCLD. This is a diverse collection, with classic titles such as “Blueberries for Sal” to contemporary favorites like “Big Nate” or “Flat Stanley” to the youth version of the autobiography, “Malala.” Reluctant and beginner readers, English Language Learners, those with dyslexia, reading challenges, or anyone wanting to try reading at a higher Lexile should explore this collection. Visit gcld.org and click on the browse category, “GCLD Read-Along Books” to explore all available titles.

GCLD’s mission is “linking people to boundless opportunities.” Enjoy all that GCLD has to offer.