MARFA — A few weeks ago, Nicki Ittner, the new programming librarian at Marfa Public Library, tuned into Instagram for another edition of the library’s online “story time” program.
That day, Ittner was reading “Pokko and the Drum,” the story of a frog who “lives with her quiet parents in a quiet mushroom in a quiet forest,” as the Instagram post for the story time described it. But that forest gets a lot less quiet after Pokko gets a drum.
With drums and music playing in the background, Ittner took on characters’ voices as she told the story of Pokko, whose parents at first regret giving the young frog a drum and send her out into the forest to get some peace and quiet.
But soon Pokko is joined by other musical animals, including a raccoon on a banjo and a rabbit on trumpet. Eventually, there’s a whole musical troupe following Pokko, and her father is forced to admit: “I think she’s pretty good.”
As the coronavirus drags on, nixing everything from concerts and sports practices to in-person Marfa library story times, libraries across the region are changing up how they do community outreach.
With virtual story times for children and book clubs for adults, libraries are also making the pivot from in-person meetings to online ones. It’s a way of not only reducing boredom and loneliness in the region, but of reminding people that libraries are still open — including for curbside pickup — even if their physical buildings are closed.
Story times like the one about Pokko and her drum are a lifesaver for many parents, who’ve had to deal with cooped-up kids and remote school classes. Among those parents is Ariele Gentiles, a library board member and mom of two boys.
“We were at the library probably three times a week,” Gentiles said of herself and her two sons, aged three and five. But as the region started locking down in March, “everything shut down, and it was one less thing in our lives.”
But as the crisis has continued, Gentiles said the library has adapted to the circumstances. These days, the family is back at least once a week to pick up a curbside book delivery or an “activity packet.”
Put together by Ittner, the packets come with toys and activities corresponding to whatever children are reading at the moment. Gentiles called them “incredible,” and they’re part of the reason her library trips have returned.
“It’s nice these days to have something to look forward to,” Gentiles said of those visits with a laugh. Otherwise, with the family still sheltering, “we obviously don’t go out much.”
But it isn’t just kids who can get in on the fun. Ittner says the library has created and is working on a range of activities for all ages, from reading clubs for adults to a friendly competition to see who can read the most books.
“You’re entered into the raffle for your age group,” Ittner says of that read-off. “The prizes are really awesome.” Among them: hammocks for adults, drones for teens and tweens and a “Harry Potter Extravaganza Kit” for younger children.
Taken together, Ittner says, virtual events like these are helping make up for in-person activities that were cancelled over coronavirus concerns, like the sand art class, the seashell mosaics class and the family movie nights.
“She had so much good stuff planned,” Ittner says of the previous library director and current Marfa community services director, Mandy Roane. “March was supposed to be big.” And having to cancel those events this year was “a hit” for librarians who had slated and planned out numerous kid-oriented activities.
Another idea, Ittner says, is to tackle the tough and scary topic of coronavirus in the style of Sesame Street, which often addresses tough issues like prison or drug addiction in kid-friendly terms. But Ittner is still on the fence about it.
“I’ve wondered about that, but I haven’t acted on it yet,” she said. “I can’t tell how kids are feeling.”
Marfa library isn’t the only local library going digital with their curriculum. In Alpine, the city library is also finding ways to reach children who are out-of-school and stuck-at-home.
“This is the time of the year when we do a lot of kids programs,” said Don Wetterauer, director of the library there. “Obviously, that’s not happening. Everything right now is online.”
Like Marfa’s library, they had to cancel in-person events as coronavirus became a reality in the region. And like Marfa’s, they’ve found workarounds with online educational programming and to-go learning kits, including a “magic sand kit” designed to teach children about chemistry.
“For most libraries, this is a whole new world,” he added. And while he thinks libraries have “adapted pretty quickly” to the challenges of coronavirus, he still worries about keeping kids engaged.
“You want to have things that are interesting so they don’t drift off and get bored,” Wetterauer added. “That’s the challenge.”
In Presidio, Library Director Carmen Elguezabal has stayed busy working with the Senior Center during the pandemic. But as the crisis stretches on, she too is brainstorming ways to get kids engaging virtually with reading.
In a phone interview on Tuesday, Elguezabal said it was her first day back at the library in months. She’d be spending the coming days cleaning the library and getting her bearings on virtual plans.
“I’m in shock,” she said of the feeling of being back at the library. “I’ve been sheltering at home. [City leaders] let me loose today, to come back and start over again. It’s going to be a while.”
The same day that Ittner, the Marfa programming librarian, did her virtual reading of “Pokko and the Drum,” she posted another video. In it, she explains that kids can make drums with simple household items like empty yogurt cartons, balloons and popsicle sticks.
“Sorry parents,” reads at a disclaimer at the start of the video. She apparently worried that Marfa parents — like Pokko’s — might think drums can be loud and annoying. But for parents who have come to rely on the Marfa library during these difficult times, Ittner has nothing to apologize for.
Ariele Gentiles is on staff at The Big Bend Sentinel as copy editor.