Books on wheels: library seeking delivery volunteers

Monday 03 August 2020

Jersey Library is on the hunt for volunteers to deliver books to the elderly, vulnerable and other islanders having to stay at home.

While the ‘House and Homes Volunteer Delivery Service' has been running for several years, the demand for it has grown significantly over the last few months as the covid crisis is preventing more and more people from accessing the library.

“The number of people who are isolating or have to stay at home has grown hugely,” the Chief Librarian, Edward Jewell, explained.

Pictured: The library has been providing the delivery service to housebound islanders for many years.

 “At the height of the pandemic, demand for the service almost doubled. We had 80 or households and we now have 150.

At the height of lockdown, between March and June, 8,000 books were delivered to housebound islanders.

“It’s great to see that response,” Mr Jewell said. 

But while the library team was able to cope with the demand during lockdown, it has become harder to support it since the Library reopened. 

They are therefore appealing to islanders to offer some of their time to help carry out the deliveries.

“The feedback from people is that they really value this service,” the Chief Liberian added.

“The social contact is really valuable even from a distance, aside from the value of the actual material.”

Volunteers will be able to choose how often they can help pick up some books and take them to someone at home.

“Ideally we would like people who are cheerful, who like to meet people even from a distance, who are happy to carry packs of books and who have an enthusiasm for books and reading,” Mr Jewell said. 

“It’s an important service and we need a bit of help to expand it. The more people we can get involved the better.”

While the Library reopened on 12 June, it is yet to return to its normal level of activities. Mr Jewell and his team are offering different ways for book worms to get their fix without having to enter the building.

They are providing a ‘Click, Call and Collect’ service which enables people to reserve books online and collect them from the entrance.

They have also adapted their Summer Reading Challenge so that children can take part without having to tell library staff about their readings. 

So far, the challenge has received a “fantastic response” with over 1,500 children picking up their ‘Silly Squad pack’ from the Library. The challenge normally sees 2,000 children join during the whole summer.