Altamont Library Notes for Thursday, December 27, 2018

As we end our year at the Altamont Free Library, we’re looking ahead to next year, and the social event of the winter, so save the date! The always-anticipated annual I Love My Library! Gala is coming up on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Community Room at Altamont Village Hall.

Invitations will be in the mail soon and tickets will be available at the library in the coming weeks. If you haven’t attended in the past and are interested in receiving an invitation, please get in touch with us.

This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we need your support. You’ll enjoy a fantastic dinner and homemade desserts, exciting live and silent auctions, and the delightful company of your fellow library supporters.

This year, we will be honoring the many contributions made to our community by Ellen and Dick Howie and Lois and Ron Ginsburg, two couples whose dedicated service to our library and our village are a shining example for us all. Please join us!

Happy New Year!

The library will be closing at 3 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 31, and will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019. We wish you all a happy, safe and healthy new year!

Fine freedom

Have you heard? For all of 2019, we’ll be trying something new: No overdue fines on any children’s books!

No matter whether you’re a kid, a parent, a teacher, or anyone else, children’s books checked out here (even if we have to get them from another library) will not accrue overdue fines. In addition, if you have existing overdue fines on an AFL youth card, we’ll clear them.

Patrons with overdue children’s books will still be notified through their normal channels, and after 28 days, the book will be considered lost and the borrower responsible for the cost of the item, but if it comes back after that, the fine will be cleared.

We hope that many of our friends take advantage of this experiment, so spread the word!

New-gadget assistance

Now that the holidays are behind us, many of us are left trying to figure out how the heck to use the new techno-goodies we’ve received. For everyone who takes to new technologies like a fish to water, there are five of us who are utterly befuddled by new devices.

But fear not, that’s what the library is here for. Whether it’s a new phone, laptop, tablet, or eReader that won’t do what it’s supposed to do, we can (probably) help! Call the library at 518-861-7239 to book an appointment to sit down with a librarian for up to a half-hour and sort out your gizmo issues. And hey, if we can’t help you, it just means that you’re not alone in your confusion.

Nancy Murphy Exhibit

Last chance to catch it! For one more week, we’ll have the pleasure of hosting a special exhibit of one of our many talented friends, Altamont-based artist Nancy Murphy.

Whimsical: Watercolors by Nancy Murphy, a collection of nine paintings by Nancy, will be on display in our community room through the end of the year. Come take a look! Thanks for brightening up the library, Nancy!