Given the districtwide COVID protocols, students cannot access the shelves of books in the libraries and are limited in their handling of materials. Together, Shoreham-Wading River High School librarian Mrs. Kristine Hanson and Prodell Middle School librarian Mrs. Ann-Marie Kalin created an initiative to meet need for printed books and reimagined the online presence in concert with OPALS, the open source library system.

BookDash allows students to electronically submit requests with their student ID, then physical books are either delivered to students at Prodell or picked up at the library doors at the high school at the end of the school day. The initiative is promoted through English classes, and a multitude of book recommendations are available via the OPALS pages, blogs and links.

“Our students have Chromebooks and we are eager to further develop eBooks, but the majority of readers, including our students, are eager for print resources,” Mrs. Kalin said, and added that the school is averaging about 50 book requests per day.

The librarians also created a bookmark that details the circulation period and return protocol. All the books are quarantined for a week, then treated with UV light for student protection.