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The Preston Hot Springs Public Library is on the road to recovery after dealing with the damaging effects COVID-19 caused to the accessibility that public libraries offer to the community. While the library was closed to the public in 2020, once services resumed, it was apparent the need for community assistance was stronger than ever.

"COVID changed the way we look at libraries, especially after finding out libraries weren't considered essential by the state" said Library Director Starla Rice. "When COVID hit, our in-person programs were no longer available. The state library offered MontanaLibrary2Go for free and we had to send people up to Plains for library cards. It was an interesting way of finding out what people really needed."

Rice says while most people consider libraries to be essential, in the digital era libraries are on the brink of becoming a dispensable resource unless they manage to find common ground between what has been and what will be.

"Finding that transition and what the next steps should be is something we are still searching for," Rice said. "We have to learn how to compete in a digital world and we also need to make the internet more attainable here. You just have to watch it unfold and find where you fit, but we are still a community of dedicated readers. We still have people who love to have a book in their hands."

The pandemic offered ample opportunity for the library to take those initial steps into the digital world when all in-person programs the library offered came to a screeching halt and the library's weekly operating hours went from 27 down to 19. "The government offices closing hit our community really hard," Rice said. "The Council on Aging helped the seniors, but it was up to the library to help the rest of the community."

Utilizing the resources she had on hand, Rice was able to create a delivery service for library books and substituted clear plastic table clothes for plexi-glass partitions, which allowed her to keep people safe but still connected during the pandemic.

What Rice saw people needing the most was access to and help with online forms. The need for driver license renewals, vehicle registration, food stamps, unemployment and taxes all came pouring in during the closure. Rice also saw an uptick in printing services. "All of a sudden, people needed something printed, which has been taxing on our ailing printers," she said.

One major attribution the library was able to give to the community during the pandemic was an increase in accessibility to WIFI using their hot spots. "We have hot spots and they are always in demand," Rice said. "We have one at Six Shooter Pizza and another was placed at the senior center just so there's access where the people are at."

Rice added that the state library donated laptops and iPads to help with increased demand for online services. "They've been a great introduction for the seniors and there's less need to be in the library during this time," she said.

When the library reopened, they were hit with confrontation because of their limited services and mask policy. However, Rice says the library is looking forward to more in-person programming. "Despite the havoc of COVID, we're seeing the need in our community for people to get together again," she said. "We're a philanthropic community, there's a lot of positives when the world is looking a little negative."

More than a year later, the library is still working on getting people to come back. "People still don't know we're open and we are still having trouble getting the word out," Rice said.

Due to a data entry error on the library's 2020 tax return which resulted in an under levy, the library director had to lower operation costs. The 10.32 under levied mills will be carried forward over the next two years, which will put the library's finances back on track. While library services remained stagnant until July of this year, Rice says the library and county were able to settle on a plan without going through any legal channels.

The director said spending had to be cut back to a bare minimum but all hope was not lost as the library received plenty of help from fellow libraries during the closure. Rice also said an organization called Friends of the Library came through and bought 10 new books for them every month during the pandemic and the Library Foundation bought new printers.

Despite the discrepancies, the director is looking forward to the future and making the library a better place for its community. The library has seen the number of patrons increase substantially since the beginning of the pandemic and Rice is happy to see people come back. "You have to have a sense of humor going through all of this," Rice said. "We pride ourselves in Hot Springs on being a welcoming community and we've been able to come out the other side with our humanity still intact."