For immediate release: June 15, 2020
Despite the closure due to COVID-19, Douglas County Libraries (DCL) continues to find innovative ways to connect with the community. The library’s newest endeavor, DCL Delivers Good Times, provides customers in Douglas County with entertaining new ways to enjoy library services and materials through at-home experiences and celebrations.
Each DCL Delivers package was created for small, safe outdoor gatherings with Colorado’s Safer at Home guidelines in mind. The Backyard BBQ and Backyard Party packages include a mix of nontraditional library materials and signature extras to make gatherings at home easy, convenient and fun. The library’s free Backyard Movie Night package, part of the initial DCL Delivers offering, has already booked up for the summer.
The Backyard BBQ package includes a full-size smoker with charcoal or wood chips, cookbooks, smoker seasonings, disposable dinnerware, and yard games. There is no cost to check out the kit—all that’s needed is a DCL library card—and the kit may be picked up using the library’s Park & Pick-Up curbside service.
The Backyard Party package is available for a fee and includes all the trimmings for celebrating a birthday or hosting a playdate at the customer’s home, with optional decorate-it-yourself dessert and/or an inflatable water slide rental. It also includes the option for home delivery, an on-site party coordinator, and a trained DCL storyteller to present a Storytime. It is an extension of DCL’s popular in-library Birthday Party service.
“We are always looking for ways to connect with our community,” said Amber DeBerry, DCL’s Director of Community Engagement. “When we had to close our doors in consideration of public and staff safety, we immediately started thinking about how we could keep serving our customers with the DCL touch they’re accustomed to.”
The library continues to serve customers not only through DCL Delivers, but also through curbside pick-up, enhancements to digital offerings, and by modifying events for the virtual environment, like Virtual Storytimes, Quarantine Quiz Show, and virtual author events. Many DCL book clubs and discussion groups are now being offered virtually and with special guests. In July, author Kirk Johnson will join the Daytime Book Group virtually to talk about his book, “The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century.”
To reserve a Backyard BBQ or Backyard Party package, or for more information, visit DCL.org/delivers. To learn more about DCL’s virtual events, visit DCL.org/authors-events.
Douglas County Libraries elevates our community by inspiring a love of reading, discovery and connection.
