The Media Center began offering its curbside pickup service to RBHS students and faculty Oct. 1. Since its first day, the system has been successfully distributing textbooks, laptops and other school materials to anyone who needs them, RBHS media specialist Dennis Murphy said.

“The first day went great,” Murphy said. “So far, everyone that has needed something that we know of has received it.” 

Under this new system, students and staff can use the RBHS Media Center’s website to place holds on any materials they may need. Once the Media Center notifies them via email that their items are ready, they can pick them up at the RBHS main entrance. Murphy said this system was already in place for those who needed it, but the Media Center just recently began publicizing it more to students.

Although all orders have been accommodated so far, media specialist Jill Varns said she still has concerns about the availability of materials moving forward. 

“One difficulty with this system is that we still don’t have all of our books,” Varns said. “When we all left school abruptly in March, most people didn’t have time to return their materials to the Media Center. Many students brought materials back during our return days right before school started, but we still have about 20% of our books out.” 

Despite the availability issues, Varns also emphasized the system’s success, especially with the turnaround time between the reservation and pickup of the items. 

“On the positive side, we thought initially it might take us a little while for us to retrieve the items for the pickup, but that hasn’t been the case,” Varns said. “Usually, we’ve been able to offer same-day service, which is great.” 

Compared to other materials required for class, Varns said there hasn’t been a very high demand for “pleasure reading” books, or books that students choose to read recreationally, but she remains hopeful more students will take advantage of the curbside service. 

“When we can’t be together in person, this still allows people to get actual books in their hands,” Varns said. “We hope people use our curbside service for whatever they need, and that they keep reading. Books can work as stress relief for people, and we’re ready to help.”

Have you used the Media Center’s pickup service yet? Let us know in the comments below.