Altamont Library Notes for Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Thanks to all of the friends who took part in our Summer Reading Program this year, which wrapped up last week. It was a bit different than it’s been in years past, but I am so proud of all of the exercising, playing, creating, and especially reading you’ve all done this summer! Great job!

Thanks, too, to everyone who helped us find Rosie Raccoon on her too-short visit to our beautiful Village! You’ll be happy to know that Rosie has found a forever home with the winner of our Rosie raffle, Breanna Evans! Congrats, Breanna! We know Rosie will love living with you! 

StoryWalks

If you haven’t had time to take a StoryWalk yet, you should because they won’t be up forever! Take your favorite young people for a nice walk-and-read around Schilling Park on Maple Avenue to enjoy “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?” by Erik Carle and Bill Marin Jr.

If you’d rather a nice picture book for early elementary-aged friends, check out “What Do You Do With an Idea?” by Kobi Yamada and Mew Besom over at Altamont Elementary School. If you are a tween or teen and love poetry, take a hike over to the trails at Bozenkill Park for a walk through the poetry collection “Sad Birds Still Sing” by the poet Faraway. 

If you’ve already been through the storywalks, please let us know what you thought about them. Would you like to see more of them? What kinds of stories would you like? Let us know! You can always get in touch with us at or give us a call at 518-861-7239. Hope to hear from you! 

Census

By now, more than 74 percent of all households in the Village of Altamont have responded to the Census, which is great! That’s better than the national average, the state average, and the Albany County average, so well done!

But, you know what? I think we can still do better! And we need to, because for every person that doesn’t get counted, the Village loses out on $10,000 in support from the County. 

The bad news is that if you haven’t responded yet, you’re running out of time to be counted! If you haven’t responded yet, you can still do it online at www.my2020census.gov, or by phone at 1-844-330-2020. Take 15 minutes (or less) and filling out your Census today.

Even if you haven't received a mailing from the Census Department yet (or it got misplaced), you can still go ahead and respond to the Census online by going to https://my2020census.gov. Simply click on the button that says “If you do not have a Census ID click here,” and you will be led through a series of questions about your home address, and then get into the Census questionnaire. Census workers are also visiting the homes of people who have not yet responded, to please be on the lookout for them! 

If you have any questions or need help in filling out your questionnaire, send us an email at or call us at 518-861-7239 and we'll do whatever we can to help.  

Book club

in Orsini Park

Mark your calendars, and join us in Orsini Park at noon on Monday, Sept. 7 for an open-air, socially-distant, in-person meeting of the First Monday Book Group. Bring a lawn chair, a mask, and a water bottle, and meet us for a discussion of Lauren Groff’s novel Fates and Furies. We have plenty of copies, so call us at 518-861-7239 to reserve yours today. See you in the park!

Grab & Go

Curbside Grab & Go service is in full swing here at the library and it’s been going really well so far, and it’s been so wonderful to see so many of our friends back in the library after so long.

Here’s how Grab & Go service works:

— Hours of operation for pick-up and drop-off will be noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday;

— Reserve books and DVD’ at http://www.catalog.uhls.org anytime or by calling us at 518-861-7239 beginning June 15;

— When your items are ready, a library staff member will call or email you with a time you can pick them up. Please make an appointment before you come so that we can be sure to have everything ready for you when you get here;

— Your order will be waiting on a table in the library’s vestibule in a paper bag with your name on it. Please follow the directions you will see posted about “traffic flow” and social distancing;

— At this time, the library building and its restroom will remain closed to the public. Printing, computer, faxing and photocopying services are not yet available;

— Returns can be dropped off in the marked boxes in the library’s vestibule during business hours. Due dates for previously checked out materials have been extended into July — overdue fines are not being applied to previously borrowed materials;

— Returned items will be quarantined at the library for at least 72 hours before they are able to be checked in and recirculated; and

— Library users must maintain social distance and wear masks while picking up and dropping off library materials. 

If you have any questions, please give us a call at 518-861-7239. See you soon!