by Shaune Lee
Despite the tumult of the past year, teamwork and hard work have kept the doors at the Northumberland Public Library open—one of seven libraries in Virginia to do so during the pandemic, according to director Jane Blue.
When mandatory shutdown orders were imposed in March 2020, Blue and library staff worked together to try and find ways to work around what they hoped would be a short-term closure. Once permitted to reopen—within strict guidelines— over a month later, they began shifting their focus, trying to rework community services to comply with social-distancing requirements.
Blue speaks highly of the library staff’s efforts, calling herself “blessed” with a “cohesive team,” as they voted to work on-site and put in long hours to keep the library running….
