May is usually our prep time for summer as parents and children flock to the library following the school year to enjoy the number of reading programs and one-off performances we have during June, July, August. However, we realize this year – like last – is going to be much, much different with regards to what programs we can offer our patrons as we still wish to be cautious with respect to patron and staff safety during the ongoing pandemic.

As such, we will likely fall back on what worked last summer, namely programming that is more outreach in nature, such as Grab & Go bags for children, Book Boxes for our teens, and adult craft kits. We do hope we’ll be able to offer some outside programming at our Camellia Pavilion, but again this depends on the trajectory of the pandemic. We will continuously monitor how COVID-19 is affecting our county and adjust our calendar accordingly. Our main priority is to do the best we can to keep our patrons and staff safe.

In June, we will also re-open the library on Saturdays (9 a.m. to 12 p.m.). We also will no longer quarantine materials and patrons can now return the books to our Circulation Desk inside. We will continue to offer Curbside Service to anyone who wishes to take advantage. You can view our catalog ahead of time at www.greenville-bcpl.org, call and tell us what materials you’d like, and we’ll meet you at your car when you arrive.

Computer time-limit restrictions will remain in place (one hour per user) as we are still limited on how many computers we can open to the public and remain socially distanced.

Though you are not required to, we also ask that you wear a mask when inside the facility. If you do not have one, we will be happy to provide you with one at the Circulation Desk.

Hopefully, by this time next year, we will be able to fully open the library so that our patrons can enjoy all we have to offer. We’ve missed that as much as you have.

We are excited to have been awarded a $3,000 grant from the American Library Association as part of their “Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries” initiative (read release here). We have always believed the library should support and help initiate programs related to the arts (music, writing, theatre, art), and this grant money will be used to do just that. Watch for more news about this exciting opportunity for students county-wide.

Gov. Kay Ivey’s office released information in April that Alabama would maintain its congressional representation based on U.S. Census data collected in 2020. This is great news for our state and for Butler County! The library received a federal grant through ADECA last year and thanks to the support from great public servants like Bettdonna Mack (City of Greenville), Evangelist Carolyn Griffin (Butler County Ministerial Association), Tracy Salter and Courtney Rudowski (Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce), Rebecca Butts (Butler Co. Commission), Sharlean Briggs (Alabama Extension System), along with the support we received from our county, municipalities, and other civic-minded organizations, we’re happy to say we did our part to ensure Butler County Counts.

The pandemic caused us to change plans on more than one occasion as to how we were going to use the grant funds, but we were able to use that money to invest in our community. Members of our committee rose to challenge, coming with innovative ways to promote the census, assist our frontline healthcare workers, educators, and small businesses, and bring greater awareness of the census through social media and traditional advertising means.  

Even if all you did was complete your census, you did your part, and we are grateful to you for doing your civic duty.

We were happy to help Georgiana's Rose Memorial Library acquire some much-needed children's books through a Pilcrow Foundation grant this past year. We look forward to more opportunities to help the RML promote literacy in our county. All libraries are beneficial to our community! Read more about the grant here. 

Kevin Pearcey

Director

GBCPL