The Bronxville Library.  Photo by A. Warner

By Susan Miele

February 16, 2022: “The library has been a saving grace for us over the last year.”

“Beyond the call of duty… Top service under difficult conditions”

“They should be given a special award...they were and are ‘heroes.’”

These are a few of the comments submitted by library patrons in response to the user survey fielded by the Bronxville Public Library last June, referring to library services during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many more comments were equally glowing.

One of 38 branches of the Westchester Library System, the Bronxville library was the second in the county to reopen (the Pound Ridge library being the first), with curbside services beginning in mid-May of 2020 and indoor access restored as soon as the governor’s orders allowed, on June 23. Not all branches were as accessible.

“At first, we had a 30-minute browsing limit,” said library director Greg Wirszyla. “We took away seating, newspapers, computers. But we wanted to be there for the public. Everybody was starting to go stir crazy, and the staff were itching to come back.”

Eventually, the visitation limit was raised to two hours, and seating reinstated here and there, all while adhering to safety guidelines. Instead of purchasing pricy plexiglass barriers, the staff craftily built six of their own at a considerable savings. With the arrival of vaccines, restrictions like time limits were mostly lifted, and in-house programming returned in the summer and fall. Museum passes, grab-and-go activity kits, and the circulation of ukuleles and sewing kits remain in place.

“The library is funded by taxpayer dollars. I think it’s wrong not to make an attempt to offer services to patrons of Bronxville and beyond. I was incredibly proud of my staff,” Wiszyla said. In fact, circulation “was going gangbusters,” remaining higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Just as many individuals and organizations used the shutdown to their advantage, the library used the time to create its new young-adult room. The refurbished space for teens, which launched in November, is open outside of school hours.

“I never saw so many kids in that room after school,” Wirszyla said of the revamped space. “And in my 25-26 years working in libraries, I never saw so many teens.”

Because the room’s contents are essentially tables and chairs, it adapts easily to other uses during school hours, allowing for additional in-person programming to be offered. The library’s knitting group, for one, meets there.

Another positive outcome has been the adoption of virtual programming, which will continue indefinitely. Wirszyla reports that online capability “really doubles the potential reach of our programs.”

In addition to patron gratitude, a common theme that emerged from the 2021 survey results is a desire for expanded use of the library’s outdoor space. Additional outdoor events like storytime have already been implemented, and the staff is discussing additional opportunities to enhance this.

Though curbside pickup remains available, this service was never in high demand throughout the pandemic. Bronxville patrons have generally preferred to come in.

“The Bronxville Library was a beacon of hope and light to our community through this terrible pandemic and my family and I cannot thank everyone who works at the library enough for their dedication to keep it open during such a tumultuous time. THANK YOU!”

“Good for you for staying open. I'm a doctor and I think all the precautions you had in place were just great, just right, protected your staff and the public, and led to a sense of normalcy for my kids. It is so great to be able to come into the library, with masks, and check out books. So important…. We love the library.”

When asked what a key learning of the pandemic was, Wirszyla said, “It spotlighted the importance of the library in the lives of everyday people. It meant so much to people that we were open. They thank us constantly.”