ATHENS — Amanda Coleman, head of the Athens-Limestone Public Library’s children’s department, and her assistant, Ambre Hyatt, are doing what they’ve done together for years — presenting a children’s story time with books, songs and a felt board.

These days, however, they’re doing it a little different. Instead of performing for a group of eager kids, they’re performing in an empty room with only a digital camera in front of them. At least that’s what it looks like on Facebook. Parents and their kids are watching, sending virtual hearts and likes and posting comments such as “Thank y’all for helping entertain my kids while I started lunch.”

Like many places nationwide, the local library was forced to close to the public amid COVID-19 fears. With her regular story times suddenly canceled, Coleman looked for other ways to reach out to the community.

“A mother whose child is on the autism spectrum wrote me and said her son was upset they couldn’t go to story time,” Coleman said. “He kept saying ‘Library and French fries,’ because every Monday they come to story time then go to McDonald’s. That’s their routine. He can’t understand why it’s changed.”

After learning this, Coleman decided to host virtual story times on Facebook, providing the same familiar songs and books the library’s youngest patrons have grown to love.

“The library is part of their lives,” Coleman said. “Many come every single week. Right now, everything they know has been put on hold. We hope that seeing a familiar face will help them through this.”

So far, the virtual story times have reached thousands of people, both regular patrons and others as far away as Missouri. The library’s interim director, Laura Poe, is very pleased with the virtual story time experiment.

“Story times and early literacy are so important, no matter what’s going on,” Poe said. “But in these times, when everybody is supposed to stay home and stay safe, our staff is sharing a little bit of normal in an abnormal world.”

Story time and other kids programs are hosted live at 11:15 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays on the library’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ALCPL. Recordings of the programs can be watched there anytime.

Library officials say the virtual programming will continue until the library reopens to the public.

The current programming schedule is as follows:

Mondays — Spectrum story time (for all ages);

Tuesdays — Ink Slingers writing challenge (for those in middle school and up);

Wednesdays — Virtual story time (for those in preschool through early elementary); and

Thursdays — Facebook Live book group (for students in kindergarten through fifth grade who are discussing “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”).