Altamont Library Notes for Thursday, January 17, 2019
Did you know that there are 238,900 miles between the Earth and the Moon? Seems like a long way, especially if you were walking, doesn’t it? At the end of such a long walk you’d probably be pretty tired, but you’d also be pretty healthy.
Over the next few months, libraries throughout upstate New York will be focusing on health and wellness programs, and as part of that effort we hope that you, along with 10 counties worth of friends, will help us walk all the way to the moon!
We’re calling it the Library Moon Walk. All you have to do to participate is to keep track of how many steps, or miles you walk or minutes of exercise you do and log them on the Moon Walk website at https://librarymoonwalk.sals.edu. We’re already about one-fifth of the way there, so join the effort and blast off into better health!
MLK Day Craft
On Thursday, Jan. 17, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and again on Friday, Jan. 18, from 4 to 5 p.m., come celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by helping us make peace flags that will hang here at the library. Drop in for 10 minutes and make one or hang out for an hour and make 10!
Library gala
The always anticipated annual I Love My Library! Gala is coming up on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Community Room at Altamont Village Hall. Invitations will be in the mail soon and tickets will be available at the library in the coming weeks.
If you haven’t attended in the past and are interested in receiving an invitation, please get in touch with us. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we need your support.
You’ll enjoy a fantastic dinner and homemade desserts, exciting live and silent auctions, and the delightful company of your fellow library supporters. This year, we will be honoring the many contributions made to our community by Ellen and Dick Howie and Lois and Ron Ginsburg, two couples whose dedicated service to our library and our village are a shining example for us all. Please join us!
Tech help
Now that the holidays are behind us, many of us are left trying to figure out how the heck to use the new techno-goodies we’ve received. For everyone who takes to new technologies like a fish to water, there are five of us who are utterly befuddled by new devices.
But fear not, that’s what the library is here for. Whether it’s a new phone, laptop, tablet or eReader that won’t do what it’s supposed to do, we can (probably) help!
Call the library at 518-861-7239 to book an appointment to sit down with a librarian for up to a half-hour and sort out your gizmo issues. And hey, if we can’t help you, it just means that you’re not alone in your confusion.
Fine freedom
Have you heard? For all of 2019, we’ll be trying something new: No overdue fines on any children’s books! No matter whether you’re a kid, a parent, a teacher, or anyone else, children’s books checked out here (even if we have to get them from another library) will not accrue overdue fines.
In addition, if you have existing overdue fines on an AFL youth card, we’ll clear them. Patrons with overdue children’s books will still be notified through their normal channels, and after 28 days, the book will be considered lost and the borrower responsible for the cost of the item, but if it comes back after that, the fine will be cleared. We hope that many of our friends take advantage of this experiment, so spread the word!
Annual meeting
The annual meeting of the Altamont Free Library Board of Trustees will take place at 6:30 on Monday, Jan. 21. It will be immediately followed by our regular monthly board meeting. All members of the community are invited to observe.