Between the Stacks: 8/24/2022

One of the questions I receive the most is when will the Library be open for more hours. With the passing of the mill levy, the answer is September, when we begin opening every Tuesday and Thursday at 11 AM instead of 1 PM. This adds four more hours to our public service time which doesn’t seem like a great deal but it will enable us to have morning programs on all six days of the week. For those who enjoy coming when school is in session or just getting their errands done before lunch, these hours will enable patrons not to have to wait for service. The Library will be closed on the Monday of Labor Day weekend, on September 5. We are open the rest of the week during normal hours. Our new hours will begin on September 1st.

The September calendars are almost finished. I am waiting on a couple of speakers to confirm the dates. We are hosting a variety of evening programs for adults, teens, and families this year. Some are dealing with important issues such as homelessness among teens while others are just for fun. One of the greatest things about my job is meeting so many talented and interesting people who are willing to share their knowledge with others. Creating an environment and love of lifelong learning is the core of our purpose for all library patrons, and finding new and different ways of doing that is the reality behind all of our programming.

Of course one of the ways to do this is books; I have had a great time ordering all sorts of new adult, children, and teen books for the fall. The blockbusters will come out closer to the Christmas buying season but one of the amazing things about being a librarian is that I am privy to all sorts of pre-publication information. This lets me put our most popular authors on pre-order and gets the books here often before they arrive in the normal outlets. Having patrons who help me keep watch for new releases is also a huge help in making sure we don’t miss anything.

We still have Covid tests for those who would like to have a few on hand for the winter. They are free and easy to use with quick results. They were provided by the Jefferson County Health Department for anyone who would like one. The Library is still washing all of our checked-out materials in order to keep our patrons safe. One of the nurses told me a few weeks ago the Library always smells clean and fresh; so thank you to all of our staff and volunteers for keeping it that way!