The Altamont Free Library’s annual book sale is coming up this Saturday, May 6, and we need you, (yes, you!) to help us make sure that it’s our most successful sale ever! Between Thursday, May 4, and Friday, May 5, we will be the grateful recipients of lots of used books.

All those books have to be sorted, organized, and carried outside for the sale. On the day of the sale, we need all the friends we can get to help sell those books, keep our tables tidy, and break down at the end of the day.

If you can be of assistance, you will have our undying gratitude (and an early peak at donations!), so get in touch with us at 518-861-7239 or by email at . This would be a great way for younger friends to rack up some community service hours, so if you have some of them, let them know. Thanks in advance for your help!

Library Gala

Tickets are now available for the 2023 I Love My Library Gala! Just visit AltamontFreeLibrary.org to order yours today.

Taking place on Saturday, May 20, from 6 to 9 p.m., the gala is AFL’s biggest fundraiser of the year (actually, it’ll be our biggest fundraiser in over three years!), and we need your help to make it a success.

This year, we’re changing things up a bit: Instead of the freezing cold of February, we’re holding it amid the (hopefully) beautiful weather of early spring, and instead of holding it at Village Hall, we’ll be holding it in the beautiful Flower and Fine Arts Building on the Altamont fairgrounds!

If you attend, you’ll enjoy hors d’oeuvres, a carving station and a salad station, homemade desserts, live music, and an auction in a beautiful setting amongst the snazziest dressed folks in town. Tickets will be $75 per person. Better yet, join our Honorary Committee and you’ll get your ticket to the gala, and have your name prominently displayed in the event program and on posters around the Fine Arts Building.

This year, our theme will be Our Community in Bloom, and we will be honoring several individuals who contribute to the daily beautification of the village. I am very pleased to announce that our honorees this year are Keith C. Lee, John Sands, Al and Veronica D’Alauro, and staff of the Village Department of Public Works. Each of them have contributed in their own ways to make Altamont the lovely and picturesque place that it is. We are proud to be able to call them all friends of the library.

Library Expedition 

Are you up for an adventure? Like to visit places that you’ve never been before? Do you love libraries? If so, may I suggest the 2023 Upper Hudson Library System Library Expedition? Think of it as a kind of Cannonball Run for nerds.

The idea is for folks, as individuals, families, or teams, to visit every single one of the 36 library locations in our two-county library system between the beginning of April and the end of August. In 2018, folks who visited all 36 libraries got their very own gold library card, but we couldn’t have the same prize this time, so this time, anyone who completes the entire expedition will receive a platinum library card!

It’s a fun challenge for folks who love libraries and want to explore parts of the Capital District they may have passed by or passed through but never stopped to smell the books. If you would like to be a 36er — and who wouldn’t? — stop by the library and pick up your official map and get your official Altamont Free Library stamp on your passport! All aboard for adventure!

 

 

 

When it rains, it really pours sometimes. In the past few weeks, the Altamont community has gotten a bit smaller and less interesting with the passing of several noteworthy Altamont residents.

Some of them had been pillars of the Altamont community for decades, and others had only later in life found a home here, but all were valued tiles in the mosaic of our village.

About some of them, like George Pratt, much has been written and not much more needs to be said (except to say that the last time I shook his hand, George — by then well into his 90s — still had the strongest handshake I think I’ve ever experienced).

Some others, however, can be memorialized further. Ruth Anne Burby left us a few weeks ago at the far too young age of 57. She was a devoted library user, a prolific volunteer, a kind and generous soul who gave more of herself to the Altamont and Farnsworth PTAs than could reasonably have been asked of anyone.

Mary Hughes was, like George Pratt, 94 at the time of her passing last week. She lived nearly her entire life in Altamont, and was active in nearly every aspect of community life, including serving on the library’s board of trustees among much, much else. She was a particular favorite of ours, a voracious reader and a warm and gentle presence especially when accompanied by her husband, Hal, who passed away last June.

Two more recent additions to the community were David Silver and Charlie Russell, both neighbors at Brandle Meadows, who found a welcoming home in Altamont later in their lives. Both were great readers, and all-around great guys. All of them made a contribution to the life of our village, and all will be deeply missed. 

It’s weeks like this that remind us of the double-edged nature of living in a tight community like Altamont, where it can sometimes feel as though everybody knows everybody. We get to enjoy the joys of comfort and familiarity, but we also have the sadness that comes when any member of our community leaves us. 

Library gala

Tickets will be available next week for the 2023 I Love My Library Gala! 

Taking place on Saturday, May 20, from 6 to 9 p.m., the gala is AFL’s biggest fundraiser of the year (actually, it’ll be our biggest fundraiser in over three years!), and we need your help to make it a success.

This year, we’re changing things up a bit: Instead of the freezing cold of February, we’re holding it amid the (hopefully) beautiful weather of early spring, and instead of holding it at Village Hall, we’ll be holding it in the beautiful Flower & Fine Arts Building on the Altamont fairgrounds!

If you attend, you’ll enjoy hors d’oeuvres, a carving station and a salad station, homemade desserts, live music, and an auction in a beautiful setting amongst the snazziest dressed folks in town. Tickets will be $75 per person. Better yet, join our Honorary Committee and you’ll get your ticket to the gala, and have your name prominently displayed in the event program and on posters around the Fine Arts Building.

This year, our theme will be Our Community in Bloom, and we will be honoring several individuals who contribute to the daily beautification of the village. I am very pleased to announce that our honorees this year are Keith C. Lee, John Sands, Al and Veronica D’Alauro, and staff of the Village Department of Public Works. Each of them have contributed in their own ways to make Altamont the lovely and picturesque place that it is. We are proud to be able to call them all friends of the library.  

Earth Day

happenings

Earth Day is coming up on Saturday, April 22, and we’ve got two cool things going on that day. First, we’ve got the annual Village-wide Green & Clean sponsored by Altamont Community Tradition from 9 a.m. to around noon. We’ll pick up sticks and trash, prepare garden beds, and generally give Orsini, Schilling, and Angel parks a nice spiffing up.

It’s a great way to give back to the community and to show your gratitude for the wonderful place that we call home. If you happen to have some garden tools and/or a wheelbarrow that you can bring, it would be greatly appreciated.

If you’re not at the Green & Clean, why not start your day off with an inspiring screening of the award-winning documentary “The Seeds of Vandana Shiva,” at the Guilderland Public Library? Presented jointly by the Guilderland Public Library and the Altamont Free Library, the film tells the remarkable life story of Indian eco-activist Dr. Vandana Shiva and her struggles with the corporate industrial agriculture giants.

The film also aims to shine a light on where we are today — industrial food accounts for up to 40 percent of carbon emissions, while pesticides destroy soils, water systems and biodiversity, and harm human health. While the film is for all ages, we especially encourage teens and young adults to attend!  As an additional feature, we will be giving away a copy of Dr. Shiva’s brand-new memoir, “Terra Viva: My Life in a Biodiversity of Movements,” to the first 10 people to attend the event!

 

On Tuesday, April 4, all of the libraries in Albany and Rensselaer Counties will celebrate the kickoff of the 2023 Upper Hudson Library System Library Expedition. Think of it as a kind of Cannonball Run for nerds.

The idea is for folks, as individuals, families, or teams, to visit every single one of the 36 library locations in our two-county library system between the beginning of April and the end of August. In 2018, folks who visited all 36 libraries got their very own gold library card, but we couldn’t have the same prize this time, so this time, anyone who completes the entire expedition will receive a platinum library card!

It’s a fun challenge for folks who love libraries and want to explore parts of the Capital District they may have passed by or passed through but never stopped to smell the books. If you would like to be a 36er — and who wouldn’t? — stop by the library and pick up your official map and get your official Altamont Free Library stamp on your passport! All aboard for adventure! 

Spelling bee

Speaking of our friends in UHLS, we’re also happy to announce the Great Guilderland and Altamont Spell-Off! Sharpen your pencils and break out your dictionary! Altamont Free Library and Guilderland Public Library are teaming up for an old-fashioned spelling bee! 

Join us at Guilderland Public Library on Tuesday, April 11, at 6 p.m. as Altamontians and Guilderlanders vie for spelling glory, the nerdiest kind of glory there is! The winners will qualify to compete against teams from other UHLS libraries in a final spell-off, to be held April 30 at the Colonie Town Library! 

Teams of two spellers each are invited to sign up for the event. Choose a partner and team name! Going solo? We'll pair you with another singleton contestant, if possible. Participants can be age 10 or older, but at least one person on your team should be age 18 or older.

For more details and to register, please go to https://guilderland.librarycalendar.com and click on the April 11 event on GPL’s online calendar of events. Spots are L-I-M-I-T-E-D, so register today!

Earth Day

happenings

Earth Day is coming up on Saturday, April 22, and we’ve got two cool things going on that day. First, we’ve got the annual Village-wide Green & Clean sponsored by Altamont Community Tradition from 9 a.m. to around noon. We’ll pick up sticks and trash, prepare garden beds, and generally give Orsini, Schilling, and Angel parks a nice spiffing up. It’s a great way to give back to the community and to show your gratitude for the wonderful place that we call home. If you happen to have some garden tools and/or a wheelbarrow that you can bring, it would be greatly appreciated.

If you’re not at the Green & Clean, why not start your day off with an inspiring screening of the award-winning documentary “The Seeds of Vandana Shiva” at Guilderland Public Library? Presented jointly by the Guilderland Public Library and the Altamont Free Library, the film tells the remarkable life story of Indian eco-activist Dr. Vandana Shiva and her struggles with the corporate industrial agriculture giants.

The film also aims to shine a light on where we are today — industrial food accounts for up to 40 percent of carbon emissions, while pesticides destroy soils, water systems, and biodiversity, and harm human health. While the film is for all ages, we especially encourage teens and young adults to attens.  As an additional feature, we will be giving away a copy of Dr. Shiva’s brand-new memoir, “Terra Viva: My Life in a Biodiversity of Movements,” to the first 10 people to attend the event! 

I Love

My Library

The I Love My Library Gala is back! Please join us on Saturday, May 20, at the beautiful Flower and Fine Arts Building on the Altamont fairgrounds. This is our most important fundraiser, and we haven't been able to hold a gala in three years, so we couldn’t possibly be more excited for this event.

More information will be available soon including how to join the Honorary Committee and purchase tickets, so stay tuned. In the meantime, find yourself a babysitter, pick out something neat to wear, and save the date!

 

The gala is back! Please join us on Saturday, May 20, at the beautiful Flower and Fine Arts Building on the Altamont fairgrounds. This is our most important fundraiser, and we haven’t been able to hold a gala in three years, so we couldn't possibly be more excited for this event.

More information will be available soon including how to join the Honorary Committee and purchase tickets, so stay tuned. In the meantime, find yourself a babysitter, pick out something neat to wear, and save the date!

Library Expedition

On April 4, all of the libraries in Albany and Rensselaer counties will celebrate the kickoff of the 2023 Upper Hudson Library System Library Expedition. Think of it as a kind of Cannonball Run for nerds.

The idea is for folks, as individuals, families, or teams, to visit every single one of the 36 library locations in our two-county library system between the beginning of April and the end of August. In 2018, folks who visited all 36 libraries got their very own gold library card, but we couldn’t have the same prize this time, so this time, anyone who completes the entire expedition will receive a platinum library card!

It’s a fun challenge for folks who love libraries and want to explore parts of the Capital District they may have passed by or passed through but never stopped to smell the books. If you would like to be a 36er — and who wouldn’t? — stop by the library and pick up your official map and get your official Altamont Free Library stamp on your passport! All aboard for adventure! 

Guilderland/Altamont

Spelling Bee

Speaking of our friends in UHLS, we’re also happy to announce the Great Guilderland and Altamont Spell-Off! Sharpen your pencils and break out your dictionary! Altamont Free Library and Guilderland Public Library are teaming up for an old fashioned spelling bee! 

Join us at Guilderland Public Library on Tuesday, April 11, at 6 p.m. as Altamontians and Guilderlanders vie for spelling glory, the nerdiest kind of glory there is! The winners will qualify to compete against teams from other UHLS libraries in a final spell-off, to be held April 30 at the Colonie Town Library! 

Teams of two spellers each are invited to sign up for the event. Choose a partner and team name! Going solo? We'll pair you with another singleton contestant, if possible. Participants can be age 10 or older, but at least one person on your team should be age 18 or older.

For more details and to register, please go to https://guilderland.librarycalendar.com and click on the April 11 event on their online calendar of events. Spots are L-I-M-I-T-E-D, so register today!

First Monday

Book Club

Do you love to read? Do you love talking about what you’ve read with other interesting and smart people? If so, please join us for the next virtual meeting of the First Monday Book Club on Monday, April 3, at noon.

If you would like to join us for our next meeting, please call us at 518-861-7239 or email us at and we’ll make sure that you get all the details. Over the next two months we’ll be talking about Anthony Doerr’s sprawling new novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land.” We’ll discuss the first half of the book at this meeting and the second half in May. There will be plenty to discuss, so call today to reserve your copy and join us! 

Ukulele Group

Do you uke? If you do, even if you’re not very good yet, please join our monthly ukulele meetup. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, April 4, at 6 p.m., and we’d love for you to join us. It’s too cold to meet in the Orsini Park gazebo, so we’ll be meeting inside the library this time.

Bring a song or two to share with the group if you like. This is a fun, supportive way of growing as a player, picking up hints and tips, learning new tunes, and meeting fellow ukesters. We hope to see uke there!

 

For the past four years, we’ve been hearing from folks who participated in the 2018 Library Expedition that they’d love for us to bring it back. Well, we listened. We are very proud to announce the 2023 UHLS Library Expedition!

The Altamont Free Library is incredibly lucky to belong to a community of spectacular libraries throughout Albany and Rensselaer counties, which we call the Upper Hudson Library System. Each library is unique, as are the communities they serve.

Some lend out drones and have high-tech maker spaces. Some have life-sized mastodons, or paintings by Grandma Moses. Some even are former train stations! 

Next week, all of the libraries in Albany and Rensselaer counties will celebrate the kickoff of the 2023 UHLS Library Expedition. Think of it as a kind of Cannonball Run for nerds.

The idea is for folks — as individuals, families, or teams — to visit every single one of the 36 library locations in our two-county library system between the beginning of April and the end of August.

In 2018, folks who visited all 36 libraries got their very own gold library card, but we couldn’t have the same prize this time, so this time, anyone who completes the entire expedition will receive a platinum library card!

It’s a fun challenge for folks who love libraries and want to explore parts of the Capital District they may have passed by or passed through but never stopped to smell the books. If you would like to be a 36er — and who wouldn’t? — stop by the library and pick up your official map and get your official Altamont Free Library stamp on your passport! All aboard for adventure! 

Guilderland/Altamont

Spelling Bee

Speaking of our friends in UHLS, we’re also happy to announce the Great Guilderland and Altamont Spell-Off! Sharpen your pencils and break out your dictionary! Altamont Free Library and Guilderland Public Library are teaming up for an old-fashioned spelling bee! 

Join us at Guilderland Public Library on Tuesday, April 11, at 6 p.m. as Altamontians and Guilderlanders vie for spelling glory, the nerdiest kind of glory there is! The winners will qualify to compete against teams from other UHLS libraries in a final Spell-Off, to be held April 30 at the Colonie Town Library!

Teams of two spellers each are invited to sign up for the event. Choose a partner and team name! Going solo? We'll pair you with another singleton contestant, if possible.

Participants can be age 10 or older, but at least one person on your team should be age 18 or older. For more details and to register, please go to https://guilderland.librarycalendar.com and click on the April 11 event on their online calendar of events. Spots are L-I-M-I-T-E-D, so register today!

Stories & Stuffies

Stories & Stuffies is back! On Saturday, March 25, at 6:30 p.m., put on your pj’s, grab your favorite stuffed animal, and join Ms. Erika for a pre-bedtime story and craft! This low-key story time will be just the thing to prepare your young folks to count some sheep. Make sure to sign up in advance by emailing us at , or calling us at 518-861-7239.

Nature Story Time

Please join us on Wednesday, March 29, at 11 a.m. for another wonderful outdoor nature story time with Thacher Park Nature Center educator Shannon Duerr. This month, we’re going to be talking all about burrowers, the animals who make their homes in holes in the ground like moles, and voles, and prairie dogs.

We’ll read some stories, do some activities, and have a great time outside! We’ll meet in the Orsini Park gazebo and be outdoors for about 45 minutes. In case of muddiness, you might want to wear your galoshes.

 

Last week, we asked local artists to let us mount an exhibit of their art, and we got some great responses! We’d still love to hear from a few more artists and collectors, though.

Throughout the spring and summer, for a very exciting reason that we’ll be announcing next week, we’re expecting to see a notable uptick in visitors here at the library. Since we’re going to have so many new friends coming through the library, we’d love to fancy the place up a little bit and show off some of our local artistic talent!

If you’re an artist and you’d like to display your artwork here at the library, please get in touch with me by email at or by calling 518-861-7239 to discuss scheduling a showing. We’ll take good care of your treasures, we promise.

Our art display system allows us to professionally and securely display art and we’d love to display yours. Likewise, if you’ve got a cool collection you’d like to show off, please consider letting us show it in our display case. 

Stories & Stuffies

Stories & Stuffies is back! On Saturday, March 25, at 6:30 p.m., put on your pj’s, grab your favorite stuffed animal, and join Ms. Erika for a pre-bedtime story and craft! This low-key story time will be just the thing to prepare your young folks to count some sheep.

Make sure to sign up in advance by emailing us at , or by calling us at 518-861-7239.

Nature Story Time

Please join us on Wednesday, March 29, at 11 a.m. for another wonderful outdoor nature story time with Thacher Park Nature Center educator Shannon Duerr. This month, we’re going to be talking all about burrowers, the animals who make their homes in holes in the ground like moles, and voles, and prairie dogs.

We’ll read some stories, do some activities, and have a great time outside! We’ll meet in the Orsini Park gazebo and be outdoors for about 45 minutes. In case of muddiness, you might want to wear your galoshes. 

Save the date!

Do you miss the annual I Love My Library gala that we used to have every February? Well so do we, so we’re bringing it back!

It won’t be in February though. This year it will be Saturday, May 20. There will be lots more details available soon, including an awesome new location, but for now just keep that date open, find a babysitter, and pick out something fancy to wear!

 

Here at the Altamont Free Library, and throughout the Upper Hudson Library System, we have something really exciting planned for the springtime. We’ll be making an announcement about it very soon, but in the meantime here’s a little hint: Throughout the spring and summer, we’re expecting to see a notable uptick in visitors here at the library.

Since we’re going to have so many new friends coming through the library, we’d love to fancy the place up a little bit and show off some of our local artistic talent!

If you’re an artist and you’d like to display your artwork here at the library, please get in touch with me through email at or by calling 518-861-7239 to discuss scheduling a showing.

We’ll take good care of your treasures, we promise. Our art display system allows us to professionally and securely display art and we’d love to display yours.

Likewise, if you’ve got a cool collection you’d like to show off, please consider letting us show it in our display case.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for the big announcement in the coming weeks! 

Save the date!

Do you miss the annual I Love My Library gala that we used to have every February? Well so do we, so we’re bringing it back!

It won’t be in February though. This year, it will be Saturday, May 20. There will be lots more details available soon, including an awesome new location, but for now just keep that date open, find a babysitter, and pick out something fancy to wear! 

Value Line Database

Libraries love sharing, and our friends at Guilderland Public Library are better at it than most.

You probably already know that you can use your Altamont Free Library card at Guilderland or any of the other libraries in Albany or Rensselaer counties, and that, if there’s something that you’re looking for that we don’t own, we can almost always find a copy of it at one of the other libraries in the Upper Hudson Library System.

What you maybe didn’t know is that Guilderland Public Library is always very considerate about sharing its considerable online resources with AFL users! (And why not? We’re in the same town and serve different parts of the same wonderful community!)

For instance, GPL has recently started subscribing to Value Line, a very powerful tool for researching financial information, and analyzing stocks and other investments. Normally online databases like that are shared only with a library’s own users, but GPL has been kind and conscientious enough to allow AFL card holders to have access too!

You can find links to Value Line and all kinds of other online tools and databases (Creativebug arts and craft video classes are a favorite of mine!) on GPL’s website at guilderlandlibrary.org/learning-tools and log on using your AFL or GPL library card. If you’d like to learn more about using Value Line, you should definitely register for the introductory class that GPL will be holding on March 28.

Many, many thanks to our GPL buddies for being so kind and considerate. We couldn’t ask for a better neighbor!

 

Have I ever mentioned how much I love audiobooks? I do!

Listening to audiobooks is the primary way I read over the past few years, and anyone who says that listening to audiobooks doesn’t count as reading can go jump in a lake.

I still love reading on paper, and I still find some time to do it almost every day, but the ability to listen to a good book in my car on my way to and from work or while I’m cooking or doing chores around the house has allowed me to read so many more books than I would otherwise be able to.

Currently, I’m listening to “Heirs of the Founders: The Epic Rivalry of Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Daniel Webster” by the historian H.W. Brands and read by Eric Martin, which I understand might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think it’s great and very pleasingly narrated. (For first-time audiobookers, I often recommend the wonderful novel, “The Dutch House” by Ann Patchett, narrated by national treasure Tom Hanks, or any of Bill Bryson’s books narrated by the author.)

I mention this because the primary way that I get audiobooks on my phone is through a free app called Libby. Libby allows library users to download anything from the Upper Hudson Library System’s catalog of tens of thousands of ebooks and digital audiobooks for free! All you need is a smartphone or tablet and a library card and you’re all set.

Libby is produced by a company called Overdrive, and ever since Libby came out, Overdrive has had two different apps that you could use to get free ebooks and downloadable audiobooks. When libraries first started lending out digital materials, many library users started using the old Overdrive app, and lots of folks are still using it.

The time has come, however, to make the switch. Starting in late April, app stores are no longer going to offer users the Overdive app and they won’t update it any longer. So, if you’re still using Overdrive and want help in switching to Libby, just stop by and we’ll be able to help.

You can learn more about Libby at https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby. You’ll still be able to have access to the same catalog of tens of thousands of ebooks and digital audiobooks, you’ll just be accessing them through a new, more user-friendly app!

If you already use Libby, here’s a pro tip: The Upper Hudson Library System has an agreement with our neighboring Mid-Hudson Library System that gives us access to their Libby catalog too, so there are even more thousands of books to download and read or listen to! If you’d like to get connected with the MHLS Libby catalog, we can help with that too!

First Monday

Book Club

Do you love to read? Do you love talking about what you’ve read with other interesting and smart people? If so, please join us for the next virtual meeting of the First Monday Book Club on Monday, March 6, at noon. If you would like to join us for our next meeting, please call us at 518-861-7239 or email us at and we’ll make sure that you get all the details.

Just like last month, we’ll be talking about Kate Atkinson’s beloved novel “Life After Life.” We’ll discuss the second half of the book at this meeting. There will be plenty to discuss, so call today to reserve your copy and join us! If you’d like to read ahead, in April and May, we’ll be talking about Anthony Doerr’s “Cloud Cuckoo Land!”

Ukulele Group

Do you uke? If you do, even if you’re not very good yet, please join our monthly ukulele meetup. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, March 7, at 6 p.m., and we’d love for you to join us. It’s too cold to meet in the Orsini Park gazebo, so we’ll be meeting inside the library. Bring a song or two to share with the group if you like. This is a fun, inviting way of growing as a player, picking up hints and tips, learning new tunes, and meeting fellow ukesters. We hope to see uke there!

 

Librarians are known for many things: Their ability to put together an entire children’s story time in the drop of a hat, their fantastic taste in cardigans and sensible footwear, and their boundless intolerance for dog-earing book pages are just a few examples.

Being loud is not one of those things. We are a quiet people for the most part.

Except, that is, when it comes to advocating on behalf of library funding. When we do that, we can get ear-splittingly loud.

This coming Tuesday, Feb. 28, is the New York Library Association’s annual Library Advocacy Day. Library lovers from all over New York State will gather at the capitol in Albany to let our elected representatives hear from us!

Hundreds of library professionals and patrons from Buffalo to Montauk will travel to Albany to make sure that every community in our big, diverse state has a well-funded, safe, accessible library with materials and technology for library users of every age and interest.

We are lucky in the Capital District to have elected representatives who get it. We’d like to make a special shoutout to two of our favorites:

— Senator Neil Breslin, who is new to us since the recent redistricting, but who has been in the State Senate for a while and has earned a reputation over his tenure as being a champion for the libraries in his district; and

— Assemblymember Pat Fahy, who has been a fierce advocate for us and a constant presence at our library, like when she completed a one-day tour of all of the many libraries in her district as part of the 2019 Upper Hudson Library System Library Expedition.

Thanks to both of them for taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with us. If you have a few minutes to spare, please consider calling or writing to your New York State assembly member and senator to let them know what your library means to you.

We only have a few weeks to be heard while the state budget is being prepared to make sure that libraries aren’t left behind. After all, even though we only gather at the capitol once a year, every day is Library Advocacy Day! 

Value Line

Database

Libraries love sharing, and our friends at the Guilderland Public Library are better at it than most.

You probably already know that you can use your Altamont Free Library card at Guilderland or any of the other libraries in Albany or Rensselaer Counties, and that, if there’s something you’re looking for that we don’t own, we can almost always find a copy of it at one of the other libraries in the Upper Hudson Library System.

What you maybe didn’t know is that the Guilderland Public Library is always very considerate about sharing its considerable online resources with AFL users! (And why not? We’re in the same town and serve different parts of the same wonderful community!)

For instance, GPL has recently started subscribing to Value Line, a very powerful tool for researching financial information, and analyzing stocks and other investments. Normally online databases like that are shared only with a library’s own users, but GPL has been kind and conscientious enough to allow AFL cardholders access too!

You can find links to Value Line and all kinds of other online tools and databases (Creativebug arts-and-craft video classes are a favorite of mine!) on GPL’s website at guilderlandlibrary.org/learning-tools and log on using your AFL or GPL library card.

If you’d like to learn more about using Value Line, why not register for one of the classes the GPL will be holding on Feb. 28 and March 28?

Many, many thanks to our GPL buddies for being so kind and considerate. We couldn’t ask for a better neighbor!

 

Libraries love sharing, and our friends at the Guilderland Public Library are better at it than most.

You probably already know that you can use your Altamont Free Library card at Guilderland or any of the other libraries in Albany or Rensselaer Counties, and that, if there’s something you’re looking for that we don’t own, we can almost always find a copy of it at one of the other libraries in the Upper Hudson Library System.

What you maybe didn’t know is that the Guilderland Public Library is always very considerate about sharing its considerable online resources with AFL users! (And why not? We’re in the same town and serve different parts of the same wonderful community!)

For instance, GPL has recently started subscribing to Value Line, a very powerful tool for researching financial information, and analyzing stocks and other investments. Normally online databases like that are shared only with a library’s own users, but GPL has been kind and conscientious enough to allow AFL cardholders access too!

You can find links to Value Line and all kinds of other online tools and databases (Creativebug arts-and-craft video classes are a favorite of mine!) on GPL’s website at guilderlandlibrary.org/learning-tools and log on using your AFL or GPL library card.

If you’d like to learn more about using Value Line, why not register for one of the classes the GPL will be holding on Feb. 28 and March 28?

Many, many thanks to our GPL buddies for being so kind and considerate. We couldn’t ask for a better neighbor!

Gala help needed

Many of you may remember that for years, we used to hold an annual I Love My Library Gala to raise money for the library every February. For many of us who attended the last one in February 2020, it was the last big indoor gathering we attended before the onset of the pandemic made that kind of a gathering almost unimaginable.

Well, I’m happy to say that it’s time to bring the gala back! It will be happening in the late spring instead of in February this year, but only if we have your help!

We need a few people who love the library and who are great at event planning (or at least are willing to give it a shot) to lend us a hand and join our Gala Committee. Could that be you? If so, please get in touch with me at . With your help, we can make it happen!

Story time is back

Speaking of things we haven’t done in a while, a few weeks ago, we held our first story time at the Altamont Free Library since March 2020 and it was so wonderful to have it back. Story time is our weekly children’s program where we read stories, sing songs, engage in fun activities, and make crafts.

Storytime is important for so many reasons: encouraging early literacy and social skills, giving parents and caregivers of young folks a social circle to catch up with, introducing the library to young kids, and lots more reasons beyond that.

Please join Miss Ann for our super-fun weekly set of stories, activities, songs, and crafts in the library’s Community Room every Tuesday at 11 a.m. After story time, feel free to hang out and play and browse the stacks for your new favorite book. It’s a win-win-win!

 

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