Altamont Library Notes for Tuesday, November 17, 2020
This coming Friday, Nov. 20, is the official opening of the brand new Stewart’s Shop here in the village. As part of that celebration, Stewart’s is making a very generous donation to the Altamont Free Library of $2,000. We could not be happier to have been chosen as the beneficiary of Stewart’s philanthropy, and we extend our grateful thanks to Stewart’s for its generosity.
Over the years, donations from Stewart’s Holiday Match program have allowed us to renovate our storage spaces, buy ukuleles for circulation, complete work on our fire-alarm system, and update the toys in our children’s section, among much else.
Every summer, Stewart’s gives us hundreds of coupons for free ice-cream scoops that we use as prizes for our annual Summer Reading Program. We so appreciate all that Stewart’s does for us and for our community. Thank you Stewart’s!
Library Lights
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 Celebration of Lights, 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. 11 at 6 p.m., and be published on the library’s website.
Forms are available in the library’s entryway and in this week’s edition of the Altamont Enterprise. Please join us at the gazebo with on Friday, Dec. 11 for what is always a lovely and moving (masked-up and socially distant) ceremony.
Book Club!
With the onset of cooler weather, we’ve had to migrate our First Monday Book Club meetings to the digital realm. If you would like to join us for our next meeting, please us at 518-861-7239 or email us at and we’ll make sure that you get the Zoom meeting connection details for our next meeting on Dec. 7.
At that meeting, we’ll be discussing the wonderful novel “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek” by Kim Michelle Richardson. Call today to reserve your copy and join us!
Browsing
If you’ve been missing scanning our library shelves since the pandemic hit, we’d love to welcome you back in! You can now make an appointment to come in and browse the collection!
It’s been really great having folks back in the building after so long, and on behalf of the staff, I want to say everyone who’s come in so far to browse for being so patient and careful about following our new rules.
Here’s how it works: You can call us at 518-861-7239 to make an appointment to come in and to browse the library collection. At first, appointments will be scheduled between 2 and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and, depending on how things go, we may expand that to the entire day over time.
Visits must be scheduled ahead of time by phone, and walk-ins will not be allowed, even if no other appointments are scheduled at the time. Appointments will be limited to 10 minutes per visit, and to one patron or family (five people maximum) at a time.
Face masks must be worn, covering the mouth and nose throughout your visit, and all patrons must use hand sanitizer upon entering the building. Computers and bathrooms will not be available to patrons, but the photocopier and fax machine will be available. Please be advised that all toys have been temporarily removed from the children’s section, in order to keep the library hygienic and safe for all users and staff.
Curbside Grab & Go service is still our primary mode of lending, and when items are requested, we will continue to prefer that method of delivery. Please do not schedule a visit if you are experiencing any COVID or flu symptoms. If you are feeling unwell, or if you are unable to wear a mask for any reason, we will be happy to arrange for curbside delivery.
We look forward to continuing to serve our community in all of the ways that we safely can. We thank you all for your continued support, patience, and respect for these new rules. On behalf of the staff and Board, we sincerely appreciate it.