Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library closed its 27 branches in March 2020 as part of Florida’s statewide shutdown in response to COVID-19. Staff quickly expanded virtual services and digital collections and recorded storytimes and technology training from home. As libraries throughout the nation made plans to reopen, THPL followed the direction of its local government and maintained a cautious, phased approach, especially since a large number of staff were activated for the county’s emergency operations.

THPL began with contact-free curbside holds pickup at 25 libraries. Next came free curbside faxing, scanning, copying and printing. THPL expanded its Wi-Fi for Park & Surf zones at nine branches so customers could park close and connect. A planned Borrow by Mail service officially launched to mail library materials directly to customers’ homes. THPL’s annual Summer Reading program went virtual in partnership with County Parks & Recreation, offering 70 live programs, curbside to-go activities and weekly prize raffles.

Since May 2020, residents have borrowed 267,200 items curbside, made 1,100 appointments for document service and received 21,930 items by mail. In June 2020 customers used Park & Surf Wi-Fi 90,890 times, which is more than one-third of the connections in June 2019 when branches were fully operational. The Summer Reading program drew 2,446 participants who earned over 5,000 activity badges and logged 1.2 million minutes read. Related social media posts and contests helped Facebook engagement increase by 200% with a 500% increase in followers.