Altamont Library Notes for Wednesday, February 9, 2022
I know that there’s a lot of confusion out there right now about wearing masks in indoor public places. There are executive orders, court cases, appeals, reversals, reversals of the reversals, appeals of the appeals. It seems to go on and on without much clarity.
At the Altamont Free Library, we’ve required all patrons over the age of 2 to wear a face mask since the beginning of the pandemic, and we continue to do so.
The New York State Department of Health continues to strongly recommend that masks be worn in indoor settings where the people’s vaccination status is unknown.
Many of our patrons are young children, have medical vulnerabilities, or are — for whatever reason — unvaccinated, so at any given time, there may be unvaccinated people in the library who are especially vulnerable to the Omicron variant.
The best defense against COVID remains what it has always been: Wash your hands frequently; maintain social distance; and wear a mask, especially when indoors. For anyone who hasn’t done so already, please get vaccinated or boosted as soon as you are able to do so.
If you prefer not to wear a mask or if you just prefer this kind of service, we continue to offer Grab & Go service that you are more than welcome to use. The board and I will review this policy at each board meeting going forward.
If you have any questions about this, give me a call at 518-861-7239 or send me an email at . On behalf of the entire staff and board, we appreciate your patience and support.
Automatic renewal
Altamont Free Library, along with all of the other libraries in Albany and Rensselaer counties, recently decided to change the way that we handle due dates. Starting on Feb. 1, when your library materials are two days away from being due, if they can be renewed, our system will automatically renew your items so that they don’t become overdue.
There are a few reasons that your items might not get automatically renewed: If someone else is waiting for your book or movie, or if it’s something like a museum pass that can never be renewed, it won’t be. Also, if you have excessive overdue fines, the system will prevent your items from being automatically renewed.
Other than that, for 95 percent of people and in something like 85 percent of cases, your items will simply be renewed without you having to do anything to make that happen.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please let us know! Just call me at 518-861-7239 or email me at Director@AltamontFreeLibrary.org.