What is Drive Thru?
“Drive-thru”, a method of buying items while driving, is a service approach that has grown around the world since its inception in the 1930s in the United States.
Impact of COVID-19
When online buying is growing increasingly popular, it has become a new and more powerful purchasing option for many individuals even without the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic but when the COVID-19 happened, there are more people who used online buying and same with the drive thru service which people will not need to go inside the building to get the items that they want. When the world was perplexed by COVID-19's effect in 2020, Korea was the first country to adopt a screening clinic that can take a sample from the nose and mouth, detect body temperature, and disinfect while travelling in a car. Major news organizations around the world, including CNN and Agence France-Presse, praised the drive-thru clinic as a unique concept. Since then, the drive-thru screening clinic has become a COVID-19 response model in many nations worldwide, and it has been expanded to funerals, weddings, and library services that attempt to avoid or minimize face-to-face interaction. It was conceivable to improve service convenience by enabling citizens to continue using the library.
According to IFLA
According to the International Federation of Library Associations' (IFLA) Key Resources for Libraries in Responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic, which was last updated on October 13, 2020, libraries around the world face very different circumstances, ranging from widespread full-service maintenance to complete closure. Among these, nations with inadequate services utilize measures such as completely shutting areas and only giving the option to borrow or return books at a counter or via a book drop. Drive-through pickup and return of books is being tested in certain countries. Others only accept people who have made a reservation (IFLA, 2021).
Libraries that use Drive Thru
Some libraries that used Drive Thru service are the Anderson, Covedale, Delhi Township, Groesbeck, Harrison, Reading, and Symmes Township, branches as well as the Downtown Main Library. Simply drive to the indicated window during normal library hours, and library employees will help you. With the closing of libraries due to COVID-19, Wonju (Republic of Korea), a UNESCO Creative City of Literature, created the 'Book drive-thru' programme, which aims to continue lending books to people and voracious readers. The idea, which is based on the notion of 'drive-thru' services, allows consumers to access books and literature without leaving their automobiles and while maintaining physical distance. Residents can look for and borrow up to six books at a time using the Wonju City Central Library website. They can then travel to the Central Library and take up these books from the library employees stationed at the entrance.
Steps of using 24-hour Drive Thru service at Library
Step 1:
Driver touches the library card to a reader and enters a password
Step 2:
A reserved book comes out
Step 3:
Driver can collect the book
Steps on returning book using 24-hour drive thru
Step 1:
Driver touches the library card to a reader and enters a password
Step 2:
Driver places the book inside
Step 3:
The book in the returning process
Advantages of Drive Thru for Library
Drive-thru provide several advantages for library.
Convenient for users/customers
Firstly, patron value convenience. People like the ability to borrow the items that they want easily and then pick it up swiftly since Drive Thru allows people to pick up user’s movies, books, music, and other items quickly, easily, and conveniently.
Allow more users to be served
Drive-thru ordering systems allow libraries to serve more people than in the building and can accommodate at any given moment. During the epidemic, this element is critical since indoor seating is limited or forbidden in many public places.
Pandemic friendly
Another advantage is that drive-thru entail minimal touch, which is critical as the COVID-19 outbreak proceeds. It not only keeps librarians and patrons safe, but it also provides an additional incentive for people to borrow items from the library. people like knowing that they can always continue borrowing books and other materials while also reducing the spread of COVID-19. With both staff and customers wearing masks and the ability to cover windows between critical connection points, contact with a drive-thru is kept to a minimum.
Gaining user’s interest
A drive-thru or drive-in approach may enhance your consumers' interactions with your brand or organization. While many users feel secure in their automobiles, they are also yearning for unique experiences that they can undertake while remaining at a safe distance. The Drive thru is a good service for earning that.
How can users borrow items?
There are few other ways besides patron entering the building of the library and borrowing the items at library reference counter or 24-hour drive thru.
Dedicated pickup window
This is the Drive thru service which patron can drive their vehicles to the Drive Thru part and borrowing items there without entering the building. The staff that responsible for that will wear proper attire and follow the rules with the pandemic such as wearing a mask.
Book locker
This contactless, self-service alternative entails establishing a book locker outside the library for users to readily use, like how Amazon Locker, for example, is creating a system that provides users a code to use to enter the locker storing their items.
Curbside Delivery
If you don't have place for a standard drive-thru window or locker, masked staff can carry consumers their borrowed items. Library may allocate curbside parking places in front of the building, like Red Robin, and display a sign out front with a phone number for guests to call when they arrive.
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