Altamont Library Notes for Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Feel that nip in the air? That’s a pretty good sign that the holidays are creeping up on us. We’re about a month away from the Altamont Winter Celebration, so it’s time to start thinking about lighting up the Orsini Park Gazebo!
This holiday season, honor the memory of a friend, loved one, or pet with a light on the Altamont Village Gazebo in Orsini Park. The lights cost $5 each and all proceeds benefit the Altamont Free Library.
The honorees’ names will be read during the annual lighting ceremony on Friday, Dec. 9, at 6 p.m., and be published on the library’s website. Forms are available at the library and in next week’s edition of The Altamont Enterprise. Please join us at the gazebo on Friday, Dec. 9, for what is always a lovely and moving ceremony.
New patio
You might have noticed some big machines out in front of the library a few weeks ago digging up a whole bunch of dirt. We had a few people come in to ask if we were having a sewer issue or something like that. Far from it!
In fact, we’ve had the folks at Staucet’s Landscaping out there to install a new patio! It’s finished now, and we think it looks fantastic!
The idea, which we’ve been kicking around for quite some time, is to mimic the original train station platform and to create a new covered outdoor seating area and programming space where we could have a story time or where you could get a cup of coffee and bring your laptop and do a bit of work using our 24/7 Wi-Fi.
You could even come inside and borrow one of our chess boards and have a nice game with a friend! We’re really excited about this new space, and we hope you will be too.
This project was made possible through a State and Municipal Aid grant from New York State, which we received with the invaluable assistance of town of Guilderland Supervisor Peter Barber and Don Csaposs of the Guilderland Industrial Development Agency, to whom we are very grateful.
Thanks also go to Assemblymember Pat Fahy for her assistance in shepherding the SAM grant through the State Legislature. I am also grateful to Jason Staucet of Staucet’s landscaping for his fantastic work, and to AFL Building Chair Paul Scilipoti for his.
We look forward to having an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new patio in the spring, but in the meantime, please feel free to enjoy the last few days of pleasant weather for the year out on the patio!
Masks optional
As of Oct. 1, masking is optional but recommended for both patrons and staff at the Altamont Free Library. We will continue to provide disposable masks for all who would like to use them, and we ask that, if you’re feeling that, you put one on.
For the many of you who have told us that you feel more comfortable in a mask-requiring environment, please know that we will continue to do all we can to make sure that the library is as clean and sanitary a place as we can reasonably make it, and you are encouraged to wear a mask yourself if you prefer.
Many of the staff will continue to wear masks. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about this new policy, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at director@altamontfreelibrary.org.