Altamont Library Notes for Wednesday, May 26, 2021
— Photo from Joe Burke
Thirty attendees joined librarian Ann Gainer in Orsini Park on Tuesday, May 18, for Altamont Free Library’s first in-person story time in 14 months. Story times will continue to be held in Orsini Park at 10:30 a.m. every Tuesday morning, as long as the weather cooperates.
We’ve got some big news that we’re pretty excited about. Before I tell you the news, though, we need to talk about masks.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve all seen big changes in how we go about our day-to-day lives. Some businesses are allowing vaccinated people inside without masks. Nevertheless, the New York State Department of Health strongly recommends that masks be worn in indoor settings where 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. We want everyone to feel equally welcome and equally safe in our library.
For that reason, the board of trustees and I have decided to leave in place our requirement that all of our patrons continue to wear masks while they are in the library.
If you prefer not to wear a mask, 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.
Welcome
Now, for the big news.
For the past few months, the only way for people to come into the library has been to make an appointment. Not anymore.
Beginning on Monday, May 24, you will no longer need an appointment to come into the library to browse, make copies, use the computer, or whatever else you need to do. Just walk right in!
Now, sometimes you may have to wait a few minutes, since the building capacity is capped at 10 people. In order to make sure you never have to wait too long, visits will still be held to 20 minutes or less. As I said above, all patrons over the age of 2 must wear a mask for their entire visit.
We hope that making this change will make your library experience feel like almost normal. Not 100-percent normal, but closer to it than it’s been in a long time.
So stop on in and say hi if it’s been a while. Our doors are open, so come on in!