Libraries across Devon have been providing vital lifeline services over the past year, including one customer attending an online funeral at the library as he had no computer at home.

While library buildings across the county have had to close on three separate occasions over the last 12 months due to the national lockdown restrictions, the services that they offer have continued to run throughout.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Libraries Unlimited, which runs the 54 libraries in the county, invested more funds into e-resources to help cope with the high demand for e-books and audio books, as well as offering essential and lifeline services such as choose and collect and appointments to computers for essential internet access, for instance benefits applications.

Devon County Council's corporate infrastructure and regulatory services scrutiny committee recently heard that libraries have continued to provide services to customers over the last year, although 'not in the way we love'.

Alex Kittow, chief executive of Libraries Unlimited, said that during the first lockdown library staff contacted many of their vulnerable members to check in on their wellbeing and provide help and information, and that while digital issues have grown significantly over the last 12 months, it does not make up for the reduction in physical issues, albeit COVID-19 affected.

And he said that in Crediton, a customer attended an online funeral at the library as he had no computer at home, and was so appreciative of the service that was made available to him.

He added: "During much of 2020-21 usual methods of accessing physical library materials has been restricted. Despite this library staff have worked creatively to ensure Devon residents can access the books and other materials that they would normally collect from their local library.

"In June, Exeter Library offered a Book Delivery (by bike or by foot) service for those who live within five miles of Exeter Library, along with a postal service, and Exeter Library linked with St Petrock's to provide 80 books for people who were temporarily accommodated due to lockdown.

"Choose and Collect launched on July 6 offering libraries across Devon the chance to get books to their customers again. Customers phoned/emailed their local library with a specific list of books or a general wish and staff collated the books, bundled them up and they were collected from front entrances.

"Digital issues have grown significantly over the last twelve months, but do not make up for the reduction in physical issues."

Figures presented to the committee showed that the total numbers of physical and digital issues combined that customers had borrowed from the library were down year-on-year for every month since the lockdown in March, although throughout April and May, only digital issues were available.

On July 6, library buildings begun to reopen for borrowing and public computer use, amongst the earliest in England, with more opening later that month and in August, although in November during Lockdown 2, they once again had to close their doors.

The data showed that in September, October and December, the months where libraries were fully open, while the total number of issues were down on 2019, the gap was much narrower than the other months when you could not physically enter the buildings.

Physical issues of books, perhaps unsurprisingly, in 2020 were significantly down on 2019, with around 60,000 physical issues a month from August onwards this year compared to around 120,000 a month last year.

But digital downloads of books having nearly doubled this year compared to last, going from an average of around 25,000 a month to nearly 50,000 a month.

Mr Kittow added: "We have had a huge increase in the virtual services. But it is different as we buy a licence for downloads for books and once hit that total, we no longer can allow anyone else to download it.

"But it has been a lifeline to folks. Choose and Collect has supported the mental wellbeing and reduced feelings of loneliness and isolation. We have supported learning, which is especially critical now, as the majority of children are learning from home, and provided computer services to support those who do not have a computer, device or internet at home to access essential online government services and job seeking support."

While Active Borrowers – somebody who has borrowed a physical item from a physical library – have nearly halved in the last year, active users – defined as somebody who has used their library membership number to access another service, e.g. an eBook, a public PC, or public printer – have remained almost unchanged. Users are counted based on the last service they used,

Mr Kittow added: "The number of Active Borrowers has dropped throughout 2020. Access to library buildings has been limited for most of the year, therefore opportunities to borrow physical items has been restricted.

"Active Users have been consistent through the year and a significant contribution to this is existing and new users accessing eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines for the first time.

"New users registering between April 1 and July 1 increased the total registered users of digital library services by 32%, higher than the national average of 27%."

In 2019-20 Devon Libraries organised 10,064 events attended by over 175,000 people, but almost all of these events took place in library buildings, and very few took place online, and following the first lockdown in April, most of these regular events and activities have not been possible.

But Mr Kittow said that where these could transition to an online forum this has happened, with examples including Exeter Library holding weekly online Language Cafés via Zoom, Dartmouth Library moving their popular Reader Group onto Zoom, and Tavistock Library hosting virtual guided walks by local archaeologist Andrew Thompson, while many local libraries held quizzes and started reading or book groups.

He added: "In total over 1,200 events were hosted online during the first lockdown. To help reduce isolation during the first lockdown, library staff made 5,500 telephone calls to customers, all of whom were aged over 70, had a disability and/or were otherwise identified as vulnerable (most often through local staff knowledge of their customers).

"Once library staff returned to running services from the buildings, the capacity for these calls was lower, but a further 1,611 calls were made in the second quarter.

"Many of those customers may still not be venturing into public spaces due to shielding or other precautionary measures."

Looking ahead to as and when libraries are able to fully reopen, Mr Kittow said that the service were planning for the future and to dry and ensure that the libraries did have something to offer for everyone and that they can increase the amount of work that they do with schools.

At a previous meeting, he floated the idea of 'drone racing' in libraries as a way to reverse the decline in users, and he said that one 'whacky idea' he had this time around was to put a climbing wall in a library ad they have to think outside of the box.

He said: "We want to up the work we do with schools. Primary school is when they begin to lose interest, which is why drones were important and we have ideas around Lego which can have a wider audience.

"Kids like challenges, such as the summer reading challenges, and we are looking at a new year-round reading challenge for children aged 5-12

"Events are really important for getting folks in I am looking at seeing if we can put a climbing wall in one library as a whacky idea.

"We are taking the hallenges and providing services but we are planning for the future.

"All that said, we will work harder and those graphs are disappointing, and we know COVID has had an impact, but the trend has been for usage of libraries to decrease and we will have to see how the digital side impacts this."

Tabitha Witherick, head of Library Service and Customer Experience, added: "We know that people are ready to come back but we just need to wait for the right time."

Cllr Roger Croad, Devon County Council's Cabinet member for libraries, said: "It has been a very trying time for libraries and while they have been physically closed, but staff have devised differs ways deliver their offer."

Cllr Alistair Dewhirst, chairman of the committee, said that they all appreciated the work being done to keep the service alive and the social contact calls staff were carrying out.