Guilderland Library Notes for Tuesday, November 24, 2020
— Photo from Luanne Nicholson
The Wi-Fi signal has been boosted at Guilderland Public Library’s parking lot, extending almost to Western Avenue.
Outside, groundwork is being laid for the new 6,555-square-foot children’s addition on the east end of the building. Inside, we’ve shifted much of our collection to other parts of the building to accommodate construction work.
The vast majority of our print materials for children, teens, and adults is still accessible during this transition period. For anything requested of us that is currently in storage, we will gladly procure it from another local library. Public bathrooms are also being renovated to ensure compliance with the Americans with disabilities Act and add unisex and family options.
Due to the double challenge associated with stewarding this construction project while simultaneously managing the pandemic as cases escalate — for example, allowing for adequate social distancing while our usable interior space shrinks significantly to one-third the square footage — our board of trustees have deemed it prudent to delay reopening public browsing until mid-January at the earliest. Curbside services will continue as usual.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we strive to safely manage the rapidly-changing logistics involved with both the pandemic and the construction project. Updates are posted on https://bit.ly/GPLbuildingproject, Facebook and Instagram. To subscribe to our weekly eNews and monthly newsletters, go to https://bit.ly/GPLeNews.
Current services
GPL continues to serve patrons through online resources and curbside services.
Our curbside checkout hours are: Monday, Wednesday, and, Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday from 1 to 7 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Our return shed hours are: Monday, Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. All materials are quarantined for six days, including exterior sanitizing, prior to reshelving. Though fines are still waived, we appreciate the timely return of materials for the next borrower. Please note that it may take a full week for your returned item(s) to be reflected on your account.
Holiday hours
On Thanksgiving Eve, Wednesday, Nov. 25, service hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The library will suspend all services, including returns, on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26.
American Dirt
The next installment of our Night Owls virtual book group is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. “American Dirt,” the buzz-worthy bestseller by Jeanine Cummins weaving a compelling tale about a Mexican woman forced to flee to the United States with her son as undocumented immigrants, will be discussed.
Please register on the Events tab of our website, where you will find further instructions. For assistance placing a hold for curbside pickup, call us at 518-285-0050 or email us at .
Multi-Lingual Community
Did you know that there are at least 59 languages spoken throughout the Guilderland area? Some of the most prevalent are Mandarin, Telugu, Hindi, Spanish and Tamil. One of the learning tools on our website is Pronunciator, a fun and interactive way to learn any of 163 languages with personalized courses, movies, music and more. There’s also a new COVID-19 course in 101 languages. See https://guilderlandlibrary.org/learning-tools to explore all the options.
Dial-A-Story
With all the screen time we subject ourselves to these days, listening to a short story provides a welcome break to rest our eyes while igniting our imagination. Each week, our Dial-A-Story features two new tales – one for adults, one for children. Simply dial 518-519-4111 to hear an engaging story anytime.
W-iFi boosted
The WiFi available at our parking lot 24/7 has been strengthened. It now extends almost all the way to Western Avenue. Feel free to access it at any time.
Amazon Smile
During this holiday season, online shopping will take precedence more than ever. Have you designated a charity on Amazon? You can support Guilderland Public Library while shopping – win-win! Simply go to https://smile.amazon.com and search for “Guilderland Library Foundation Inc.”, then click on “start shopping.” AmazonSmile will donate one-half percent of all eligible purchases to us. We greatly appreciate your support!