A few weeks ago, we observed the sad anniversary of the beginning of the pandemic by creating an online Gratitude Wall. The Gratitude Wall is a place where you can share the things that you have been grateful for over this difficult past year. We invited the community to contribute to it, and we’ve received some great submissions.

Tresa Matulewicz wrote in to say:

“I am grateful for spending more time at home, focusing on what actually matters. The hustle and bustle of my life before the pandemic fell away and it gave me an opportunity to slow down and concentrate on my family and loved ones. We got creative, we navigated remote learning, we problem-solved and we connected with nature more. I am grateful for our community who pulled together to make what seemed impossible, possible. Neighbors helping neighbors during periods of quarantine and folks supporting small business. I am grateful for my family and I am grateful for Altamont!”

We would love for you to read what others have contributed, and to add your thoughts to the wall. You can find the link in the slides on our homepage at AltamontFreeLibrary.org or by going directly to https://padlet.com/director321/AltamontGratitude.

For our part, we could not be more grateful for the encouragement and support that our community has shown us over the past year. Thank you!

Browsing

A few weeks ago, we reopened to the public browsing by appointment for the first time with the fall surge of COVID-19. It’s been wonderful having folks back in the building and we look forward to seeing even more of you soon.

Here’s how it works: You can call us at 518-861-7239 to make an appointment to come in and to browse the library collection. At first, appointments will be scheduled between noon and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Visits must be scheduled ahead of time by phone, and walk-ins will not be allowed, even if no other appointments are scheduled at the time. Appointments will be limited to 15 minutes per visit (a little longer than the last time we tried this), and to one patron or family (five people maximum) at a time.

Face masks must be worn covering the mouth and nose throughout your visit even if you’ve already gotten vaccinated, and all patrons must use hand sanitizer upon entering the building. Computers will not be available to patrons, but the photocopier and fax machine will be available.

Please be advised that all toys have been temporarily removed from the children’s section, in order to keep the library hygienic and safe for all users and staff.

Curbside Grab & Go service remains our primary mode of lending, and when items are requested, we will continue to prefer that method of delivery. Please do not schedule a visit if you are experiencing any COVID symptoms. If you are feeling unwell, or if you are unable to wear a mask for any reason, we will be happy to arrange for curbside delivery.

We look forward to continuing to serve our community in all of the ways that we safely can. We thank you all for your continued support, patience, and respect for these new rules. On behalf of the staff, we sincerely appreciate it.

Bike Repair Station

What beautiful weather we’ve had recently! When I think of spring, I always think about breaking out my old bicycle and taking it for a ride. Sometimes, though, after a long winter, my bike could use a little bit of TLC and maybe yours could too.

That’s why a few years ago we installed a new bicycle repair station right in front of the library! It has all of the tools you need to perform basic bike repairs like changing tires, adjusting seats, chains and brakes and much more. It even has an air pump to let you fill your tires!

Many thanks to the Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match Program who provided much of the funding for this awesome new resource! Next time you’re out for a ride, swing by and check it out and don’t forget to wear your helmet!

What beautiful weather we’ve had recently! When I think of spring, I always think about breaking out my old bicycle and taking it for a ride. Sometimes, though, after a long winter, my bike could use a little bit of TLC and maybe yours could too.

That’s why a few years ago we installed a new bicycle-repair station right in front of the library! It has all of the tools you need to perform basic bike repairs like changing tires or adjusting seats, chains, and brakes and much more. It even has an air pump to let you fill your tires.

Many thanks to the Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match Program that provided much of the funding for this awesome new resource. Next time you’re out for a ride, swing by and check it out and don’t forget to wear your helmet.

Book Discussion

Do you love to read? Do you love talking about the things you’ve read? If so, consider joining our First Monday Book Club.

We meet, as the name implies, on the first Monday of every month at noon. Our next meeting will be Monday, April 5, at noon when we’ll meet via Zoom to discuss “American Wolf” by Nate Blakeslee.

“American Wolf” is the fascinating nonfiction story of the ever-evolving relationship between humans and wolves, as told through the lens of one particular wolf named 06 (after the year she was born).

Next month, we’ll be discussing “Station Eleven,” a novel by Emily St. John Mandel. Both are great stories and we’ve got several copies on hold if you’re interested. If you’d like to join us, or to reserve your copy of “American Wolf” or “Station Eleven,” call us at 518-861-7239 or send us an email at

Library Services

Two weeks ago, we reopened to the public browsing by appointment for the first time with the fall surge of COVID-19. It’s been wonderful having folks back in the building and we look forward to seeing even more of you soon.  

Here’s how it works: You can call us at 518-861-7239 to make an appointment to come in and to browse the library collection. At first, appointments will be scheduled between noon and 6pm Monday through Friday. Visits must be scheduled ahead of time by phone, and walk-ins will not be allowed, even if no other appointments are scheduled at the time.

Appointments will be limited to 15 minutes per visit (a little longer than the last time we tried this), and to one patron or family (5 people maximum) at a time. Facemasks must be worn covering the mouth and nose throughout your visit even if you’ve already gotten vaccinated, and all patrons must use hand sanitizer upon entering the building.

Computers will not be available to patrons, but the photocopier and fax machine will be available. Please be advised that all toys have been temporarily removed from the children’s section, in order to keep the library hygienic and safe for all users and staff. 

Curbside Grab & Go service remains our primary mode of lending, and when items are requested, we will continue to prefer that method of delivery. Please do not schedule a visit if you are experiencing any COVID symptoms. If you are feeling unwell, or if you are unable to wear a mask for any reason, we will be happy to arrange for curbside delivery. 

We look forward to continuing to serve our community in all of the ways that we safely can. We thank you all for your continued support, patience, and respect for these new rules. On behalf of the staff, we sincerely appreciate it.

As spring begins its customary slow awakening, and days get longer and warmer, nature is beginning to wake up again after a long winter. So, too, with our little library.

For most of the past year, we’ve had only two ways of using the library. One is to use our awesome Hoopla and Overdrive services to download ebooks and digital audiobooks to your smart devices from anywhere. That’s a pretty great service.

The other way has been our Grab & Go service, where you can order books and movies and more, and then pick them up from the library entryway when they are ready for you. That’s pretty great too.

And now for the first time since November, we’ve added a third option: You can make an appointment to come in and browse the collection!

When we were able to have browsing by appointment back in the fall, it was really great having folks back in the building again. Everyone was incredibly patient and careful about following our new rules, and I’m sure that that will be the case again this time.

Here’s how it works: You can call us at 518-861-7239 to make an appointment to come in and to browse the library collection. At first, appointments will be scheduled between noon and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Visits must be scheduled ahead of time by phone, and walk-ins will not be allowed, even if no other appointments are scheduled at the time.

Appointments will be limited to 15 minutes per visit (a little longer than the last time we tried this), and to one patron or family (five people maximum) at a time. Face masks must be worn covering the mouth and nose throughout your visit even if you’ve already gotten vaccinated, and all patrons must use hand sanitizer upon entering the building.

Computers will not be available to patrons, but the photocopier and fax machine will be available. Please be advised that all toys have been temporarily removed from the children’s section, in order to keep the library hygienic and safe for all users and staff.

Curbside Grab & Go service will remain our primary mode of lending and, when items are requested, we will continue to prefer that method of delivery. Please do not schedule a visit if you are experiencing any COVID symptoms. If you are feeling unwell, or if you are unable to wear a mask for any reason, we will be happy to arrange for curbside delivery.

We look forward to continuing to serve our community in all of the ways that we safely can. We thank you all for your continued support, patience, and respect for these new rules. On behalf of the staff, we sincerely appreciate it.

So, please come back. We’ve been staying super busy with Grab & Go appointments, but a library just isn’t a library without its community coming and going to give it life and purpose. We’d love to catch up with you and your family very soon.

It’s been a long year, hasn’t it?

One year ago, all of our lives were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, and nothing has seemed normal since. Over 2.6 million people have died of this disease worldwide, including over 530,000 Americans, and countless others are still living with the after effects of having survived it.

Children have had to learn from home, families and friends have had to be separate from one another, businesses have shuttered, and millions have lost their jobs. The effects of this pandemic have been felt by everyone in our society. It has been a devastating year.

But it does seem as though there is a bit of light at the end of this tunnel. With infection rates dropping and vaccinations becoming easier to access, we can see a time in the not (hopefully) too distant future where things will return to something like normal. Not yet, but maybe soon.

When this disease is finally if not conquered then at least reduced to a manageable scale, I hope that we don’t forget the hard lessons that we’ve learned over the past year. I learned to bake bread and to appreciate puzzles like many of us, but I also learned the value of personal connection and how much I miss it in its absence.

I learned how deep a catalog of old TV shows you can find on Netflix, but also how much better board games my kids invented are than ones you can buy. I learned how much I hate Zoom meeting, but how much I can get done working from home.

I hope we’ve all learned lessons about compassion and community and protecting the most vulnerable members of our society. If we have, then we’ll emerge from this pandemic a stronger society than when we entered it.

Share your gratitude

To mark this sad anniversary, we’re focusing on gratitude. Please join us by going to our website at AltamontFreeLibrary.org and share on our digital Gratitude Wall. Let us know what you’ve been grateful for over the past year.

For my own part, I am grateful to have a job that I love, in a community that I adore, with a staff I respect. I am grateful to have colleagues with unflagging energy and creative solutions to problems that none of us ever expected to encounter when we decided to become librarians.

I am grateful to have a wonderful wife and two incredible, interesting children with whom I have loved being quarantined. And I am grateful for the endless support and encouragement we here at the library have gotten from all of you. Thank you all!

— Photo by Al Ravenna, World Telegram photographer, Library of Congress

The March 2 birthday of Theodor Seuss “Ted” Geisel — best known as Dr. Seuss — was the inspiration for the National Education Association’s Read Across America Day celebration. On that day this year, the Dr. Seuss Estate decided to remove six of his 60-odd books from publication because, writes Joe Burke in his Altamont library column this week, it felt that the books in question portrayed some groups in a stereotypical, harmful, and sometimes downright racist light. Here, in 1957, Geisel draws the Grinch.

This past Tuesday was Read Across America Day, which is scheduled every year to coincide with the birthday of the Babe Ruth of children’s authors, Theodore Seuss Geisel, known the world over as Dr. Seuss. A lot of librarians these days have mixed feelings about Dr. Seuss for reasons that will become clear in a minute.

In observance of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, as has been widely reported, the Dr. Seuss Estate decided to remove six of his 60-odd books from publication because they felt that the books in question portrayed some groups in a stereotypical, harmful, and sometimes downright racist light.

Having gritted my teeth through multiple readings of some of those books with the offensive pictures that sparked the decision in story times and with my own children, I think they made exactly the right call and one that Seuss himself would, I think, agree with.

There’s an often-quoted but rarely sourced line that says “A truly great library has something to offend everyone,” which was apparently first spoken by an otherwise unheralded person named Jo Godwin.

Whoever they were, they were correct. Libraries should comfort us, but also challenge us. They should present us with a variety of ideas, some of which we agree with, and some of which we don’t.

Children’s picture books are a little different though. Children should have the opportunity to see themselves reflected in children’s books in ways that recognize their differences and dignity. Libraries should have collections that depict main characters of multiple races, ethnicities, and abilities — in short as real people and not caricatures.

In many ways, Dr. Seuss was a force for good in the world. For all of his foozwuzzits and boomblasters, Dr. Seuss saw deep injustices and real dangers in the world, and wrote about them with compassion and sensitivity in a way that children could comprehend.

The Lorax, The Sneetches, and The Butter Battle Book, among many others depict important issues in a way that remain relevant to this day.

He was a person of his time, and early in his career he shared some of the prejudices of his age and depicted Black and Asian characters in loathsome ways. But as he got older, he learned, and grew, and changed his approach.

That should be a lesson for all of us: It’s never too late to learn and grow, and it’s never a mistake to admit a mistake.

In accordance with the wishes of the Dr. Seuss Estate, the Altamont Free Library will be removing the six books from circulation, but we will continue to circulate all of his others. If the six books are republished in the future in a way that removes the offensive pictures or offers explanatory notes about them, we will strongly consider purchasing them.

In the meantime, feel free to take advantage of our wonderful collection of books featuring characters of all sorts in all of their diversity, complexity, and humanity.

Last Monday, I opened our outside dropbox and pulled out all of the library materials that were returned over the weekend, and found something that I wasn’t expecting: vinyl record albums. Like LPs.

What’s more, they were stamped as having come from the Altamont Free Library. Now, we don’t currently loan albums. The last time I remember seeing LPs in a library, it was the mid-1990s and I was devastated that my local library had gotten rid of their vinyl collection just as I was discovering LPs.

Now, vinyl is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, as it seems to do every decade or so, but these were not new LPs. We don’t have borrower records from decades ago, so we can’t know when was the last time they were checked out, but it looks like at least one of them was added to the library collection in 1967.

In the past, when things like this have come back, which happens from time to time, I would go on social media and make a joke about needing a scientific calculator to total up the overdue fines, but I’m going to resist the temptation this time.

See, for a lot of people, and especially a lot of young people, having a late library book or movie causes a lot of anxiety and fear. Some people worry that keeping a book out too long means that they’ve done something wrong. You haven’t.

Some people worry that they’ll have to pay some outrageous overdue fines if they bring something back late. You won’t. Our overdue fines are capped at $5 per item, and it takes almost two months to get that high.

Even better, our children’s and young-adult books don’t have any overdue fines at all! As long as they come back, you won’t have to pay anything at all. If the item is lost, you will have to pay for it to be replaced before you’re able to check out again but, if you have trouble with that, let us know and we can work something out.

Finally, some people — our younger friends especially — might worry that the librarians will be angry with them if they have overdues. We really, really won’t.

Here’s a story about me: I remember being about 11 years old and finding out that my favorite author at the time, John Bellairs, had died. Fearing for some reason that his books would be removed from the library now that he was dead, I checked one of my favorites out from the library and kept it

I knew I had done something wrong, and I was scared that the children’s librarian at my Huntington Public Library would be mad at me, so I stopped checking books out for a long time. Like, years.

I never stopped going to the library, because it still was my favorite place in the world, but I did stop going to the children’s section on the second floor, preferring to hang out in the adult section where I felt that I wouldn’t be judged.

This was, perhaps, a double-edged sort of a thing, since I was exposed to books that I wouldn’t have come across otherwise, but I also lost access to what had been my favorite books, and to the little spaces that felt like they belonged to me — a heater under a window in the stacks that I would clamber onto and sit and read for what seemed like hours.

Worst of all, I carried a feeling of shame every time I entered that wonderful building.

If I had just returned that book, or told the librarian about what the book meant to me, if I could have found the words to describe my sadness at the death of a person I’d never met, or been able to tell an adult that I was just struggling to mentally process the idea of mortality on something like a mature level, I could have let go of my burden and regained that little bit of home away from home.

But I didn’t, and I’m still sad about it to this day.

Because of all of that, one of the projects of my career as a librarian is to decouple feelings of anxiety and shame from people’s experience of their library. To be perfectly honest, I could care less about your overdue fines. Nobody should ever feel like they’re an outlaw in their library. Kids especially.

The most important thing for us is to make sure that everyone in our community gets a chance to enjoy the books and movies that we purchase. The sooner they come back, the sooner somebody else can enjoy them. That’s why we have (some) overdue fines. They’re not meant to punish people, they’re meant to serve as a gentle reminder that someone else might be waiting for that item.

Ultimately, there’s enough to worry about in the world without the library causing people any more anxiety. So, to the folks who returned those vinyl LPs, THANK YOU!

If you’ve got something that you’ve held onto for too long, don’t worry. Just bring it back, or give us a call and we can work it out. And to the Schubert String Quartet in C Major, Opus 163 as performed by the Budapest Quartet featuring Benar Heifetz on cello, welcome home!

Normally, we would have had our big I Love My Library Gala this past weekend, which is an event that I always look forward to and I know that many of you do too. Unfortunately, bringing 175 of our closest friends together in a tightly packed room just isn’t possible right now.

I sincerely hope that if we are smart and careful, if we avoid big indoor gatherings, and get vaccinated when our time comes, if we keep doing the hard work of beating COVID, then hopefully next year, we’ll be able to gather again to celebrate our library and our community.

In the meantime, I’d like to once again thank everyone who contributed to our recent fundraising appeal. If you’re missing the gala and would like to support the library, please go www.altamontfreelibrary.org/support to donate online.

We appreciate you all and can’t wait to see you all again soon! 

“The Overstory”

Do you love to read? Do you love talking about the things you’ve read? If so, consider joining our First Monday Book Club! We meet, as the name implies, on the first Monday of every month at noon.

Our next meeting will be Monday, March, 1 at noon when we’ll meet via Zoom to discuss “The Overstory” by Richard Powers. “The Overstory,” which won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is very simply a novel about trees. More specifically, the novel follows numerous characters and their relationships with trees throughout each’s life.

It’s a fascinating book, and we’ve got several copies on hold if you’re interested. You can also find the digital audiobook available for free on the Hoopla app. If you’d like to join us, or to reserve your copy of “The Overstory,” call us at 518-861-7239 or send us an email at director@altamontfreelibrary.org.

New York Times access

If you’re reading this, then we already know that you’re a smart cookie and you subscribe to The Altamont Enterprise. Good for you! But here’s something new for the new year: Now you can use your Altamont Free Library card to access The New York Times online for free!

Normally, once you’ve read a few articles in The New York Times every month, you are restricted from accessing any more until the next month, which can be frustrating. Now, you can simply go to AltamontFreeLibrary.com/Times and get a code that will allow you to access every Times article for 72 hours.

Once your 72 hours are up, just come back to our website, get a new code, and you’re good for another 72 hours. You’ll need to set up a free New York Times online account, which is super easy, and you’ll be set to read the online Times on as many computers or smart devices as you like! If you need any help getting set up, please give us a call at 518-861-7239 and we’ll walk you through it.

These days, it’s more important than ever to get your news from reliable journalistic sources like The Enterprise and The Times, so start reading today!

Things seem to be getting a bit better with the coronavirus. In Albany County, positive test rates are at their lowest since November, which is great!

On the other hand, new information keeps coming out every week about new COVID strains that seem to spread more quickly and easily, so this is no time to let down our guard. In fact, now is the time to double down and double mask so that we can get things back to normal all the sooner.

Albany County has created a website where you can register for vaccination, once vaccines become available for you. Just go to https://alb.518c19.com and sign up. Many of you are already eligible to make an appointment to receive a vaccine: If you are over the age of 65 or are a medical, education, transportation, public-safety or grocery worker, you can make that appointment as soon as appointments are available, so that you can get vaccinated.

Until then, keep doing the hard work of making sure that you, your loved ones, and your community are as safe as possible: Wear a mask (or two!), and avoid indoor gatherings whenever possible. If we keep this up for just a few months longer, I’m sure that we’re going to have a beautiful, nearly normal summer. 

“The Overstory”

book discussion

Do you love to read? Do you love talking about the things you’ve read? If so, consider joining our First Monday Book Club!

We meet, as the name implies, on the first Monday of every month at noon. Our next meeting will be Monday, March 1 at noon when we’ll meet via Zoom to discuss “The Overstory” by Richard Powers. The Overstory, which won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is very simply a novel about trees.

More specifically, the novel follows numerous characters and their relationships with trees throughout each’s life. It’s a fascinating book, and we’ve got several copies on hold if you’re interested.

You can also find the digital audiobook available for free on the Hoopla app. If you’d like to join us, or to reserve your copy of The Overstory, call us at 518-861-7239 or send us an email at director@altamontfreelibrary.org.

New York Times access

If you’re reading this, then we already know that you’re a smart cookie and you subscribe to The Altamont Enterprise. Good for you! But here’s something new for the new year: Now you can use your Altamont Free Library card to access The New York Times online for free!

Normally, once you’ve read a few articles in The New York Times every month, you are restricted from accessing any more until the next month, which can be frustrating. Now, you can simply go to AltamontFreeLibrary.com/Times and get a code that will allow you to access every Times article for 72 hours.

Once your 72 hours are up, just come back to our website, get a new code, and you’re good for another 72 hours. You’ll need to set up a free New York Times online account, which is super easy, and you’ll be set to read the online Times on as many computers or smart devices as you like! If you need any help getting set up, please give us a call at 518-861-7239 and we’ll walk you through it.

These days, it’s more important than ever to get your news from reliable journalistic sources like The Enterprise and The Times, so start reading today!

At the end of last year, we here at the Altamont Free Library were getting nervous. Because of COVID restrictions, we hadn’t been able to hold several of the fundraisers that we normally rely on to supplement our budget, and we didn’t know how we were going to make up that revenue to make our budget balance.

In a normal year, our annual book sale and chicken barbecue bring in several thousand dollars that we rely on. Even worse, we knew that we weren’t going to be able to hold our annual gala, our biggest fundraiser of the year that we normally hold this very week, and which normally accounts for as much as 10% of all of our income for the year.

So, I did something that I hadn’t done since I became the director here, I wrote an appeal letter to our community, asking for donations. We didn’t know what to expect, but we hoped that we would at least replace the money we didn’t collect from fundraisers earlier in 2020..

As it turns out, I made a silly mistake: I underestimated the generosity of the Altamont community. As of today, we have taken in over $29,000 — more than we’ve earned through fundraising in all of 2019!

With these incredibly generous donations, we ended an awful year in good financial shape.

We can now look forward to returning to a fuller schedule when public-health conditions allow, to expand our catalogue of ebooks and digital audiobook offerings, to continue to ensure that our library is as clean and sanitary as possible, and much more besides.

With your generous support, we look forward to better, more normal times ahead in 2021.

There are few libraries anywhere that are as lucky as we are to have such strong support from our community. On behalf of the board of trustees and staff, we offer all our donors our deep and heartfelt gratitude. Thank you all!

Presidents Day

Please note that Altamont Free Library will be closed on Monday, Feb. 15, in observance of Presidents Day.

“The Overstory”

Do you love to read? Do you love talking about the things you’ve read? If so, consider joining our First Monday Book Club!

We meet, as the name implies, on the first Monday of every month at noon. Our next meeting will be Monday, March 1, at noon when we’ll meet via Zoom to discuss “The Overstory” by Richard Powers. “The Overstory,” which won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is very simply a novel about trees.

More specifically, the novel follows numerous characters and their relationships with trees throughout each one’s life. It’s a fascinating book, and we’ve got several copies on hold if you’re interested. You can also find the digital audiobook available for free on the Hoopla app.

If you’d like to join us, or to reserve your copy of The Overstory, call us at 518-861-7239 or send us an email at

New York Times access

If you’re reading this, then we already know that you’re a smart cookie and you subscribe to The Altamont Enterprise. Good for you! But here’s something new for the new year: Now you can use your Altamont Free Library card to access The New York Times online for free!

Normally, once you’ve read a few articles in The New York Times every month, you are restricted from accessing any more until the next month, which can be frustrating. Now, you can simply go to AltamontFreeLibrary.com/Times and get a code that will allow you to access every Times article for 72 hours.

Once your 72 hours are up, just come back to our website, get a new code, and you’re good for another 72 hours. You’ll need to set up a free New York Times online account, which is super easy, and you’ll be set to read the online Times on as many computers or smart devices as you like! If you need any help getting set up, please give us a call at 518-861-7239 and we’ll walk you through it.

These days, it’s more important than ever to get your news from reliable journalistic sources like The Enterprise and The Times, so start reading today!

Do you love to read? Do you love talking about the things you’ve read?

If so, consider joining our First Monday Book Club! We meet, as the name implies, on the first Monday of every month at noon. Our next meeting will be Monday, March 1, at noon when we’ll meet via Zoom to discuss “The Overstory” by Richard Powers.

“The Overstory,” which won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is very simply a novel about trees. More specifically, the novel follows numerous characters and their relationships with trees throughout each one’s life.

It’s a fascinating book, and we’ve got several copies on hold if you’re interested. You can also find the digital audiobook available for free on the Hoopla app. If you’d like to join us, or to reserve your copy of “The Overstory,” call us at 518-861-7239 or send us an email at

Online ASL classes

Have you ever wanted to learn American Sign Language? If so, please join us for a six-week introductory course in ASL!

These free virtual classes will meet on consecutive Thursdays, at 4 p.m., beginning Feb. 16 and running through March 23. Classes are cumulative, so plan to attend all sessions.

These classes are intended for people ages 15 and up. Registration is required and seats are limited; email to sign up.

New York Times access

If you’re reading this, then we already know that you’re a smart cookie and you subscribe to The Altamont Enterprise. Good for you! But here’s something new for the new year: Now you can use your Altamont Free Library card to access The New York Times online for free!

Normally, once you’ve read a few articles in The New York Times every month, you are restricted from accessing any more until the next month, which can be frustrating. Now, you can simply go to AltamontFreeLibrary.com/Times and get a code that will allow you to access every Times article for 72 hours.

Once your 72 hours are up, just come back to our website, get a new code and you’re good for another 72 hours. You’ll need to set up a free New York Times online account, which is super easy, and you’ll be set to read the online Times on as many computers or smart devices as you like! If you need any help getting set up, please give us a call at 518-861-7239 and we’ll walk you through it.

These days, it’s more important than ever to get your news from reliable journalistic sources like The Enterprise and The Times, so start reading today!

More magazines

Speaking of getting your news online, did you know that with your Altamont Free Library card, you have access to over 4,000 different digital magazines on every subject imaginable?

Whether you’re interested in photography or literature, celebrity gossip or architecture, sports or cars, just log on to Overdrive.com or download the free Libby smartphone app and start checking out the full text of current magazines for free today!

If you need any help, just give us a call at 518-861-7239.

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