Hot Springs library doing online updates

HOT SPRINGS — The Garland County Library will begin a series of updates for the pandemic with Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby via Facebook Live.

Paul Kagebein, the library’s Adult Services Programmer, said the updates with Shelby will differ from those by Gov. Asa Hutchinson by having a local emphasis on aspects of the pandemic affecting Garland County.

“(Shelby) will kind of give his spiel, and then I’ll have some questions prepared and the audience will be able to ask their questions via Facebook Live, and we’ll get to as many as we’re able to within the time we have,” Kagebein said.

“It’s just yet another platform for our local health professionals to be able to address people about this ongoing pandemic, and vice versa. It gives an opportunity for the public to be able to have a chance to communicate with a local health professional about it.”

The live conversation with Shelby will be saved to the library’s Facebook page, @garlandcountylibrary, and will later be uploaded to the library’s YouTube page, “Garland County Library.”

Kagebein said the purpose of the updates with Shelby is to provide clarity, rather than comfort, to the viewers.

“It’s not exactly the most comforting topic,” he said. “Sometimes we’ll hear good news, and there may be some events where the situation escalates; but no matter what the state of the pandemic is at any given moment, there will always be new information … in regards to how people can stay safe, the progress of treatment and the vaccine, what the projections are.”