Bethlehem Library Notes for Wednesday, September 30, 2020
— Photo by Kristen Roberts
Honoring library patrons: The Bethlehem Public Library recently hung a series of banners in the parking lot to celebrate the patrons who make the library such a special place. The banners were designed earlier this year, but the pandemic stay-at-home orders delayed the big “reveal.”
Saturday hours are here! Beginning Saturday, Sept. 26, the library is open for limited in-person browsing on Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. Adding these hours is just the next step in expanding our library services in a safe and pandemic-friendly way. Our weekday browsing hours remain 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
We’d also like to remind you that library visitors are required to wear a mask that covers their nose and chin, as well as sanitize their hands before entering the library. Children under 12 must be accompanied by a caregiver, and there will be a limit on the number of people allowed in at one time.
If you would like to pick up your hold items on a Saturday without going into the library building, you still can. An outdoor greeter on the plaza will be available during browsing hours to help you get your items to go.
In addition to in-person browsing, you can get library materials in the following way:
— Curbside pickup is currently available from 1 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 1 to 6 p.m. Friday;
— Our Pop-Up Library on the Plaza continues on nicer days;
— Books to People offers a delivery service for the homebound; and
— Cardholders may download eBooks and audiobooks, and stream video online anytime.
For the latest building and service updates, visit www.bethlehempubliclibrary.org/coronavirus-information.
More Wi-Fi
Our Free Library Wi-Fi throughout town has been a lifeline for many as work from home and hybrid schooling strained digital access. This fall, we added the town-hall parking lot and playground to the growing list of locations where we offer free Wi-Fi 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You’ll also find Free Library Wi-Fi outside the library building, at the Elm Avenue park and pool, at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and at Colonial Acres Park in Glenmont.
Enjoy a story
inside and out
Enjoy the beautiful fall weather and an outdoor story at one of our two StoryWalks in the town of Bethlehem.
On our newest StoryWalk, you will meander through the scenic Pine Hollow Arboretum in Slingerlands as you enjoy the book “A Stone Sat Still” by Brendan Wenzel. The StoryWalk begins at the arboretum’s Magnolia Field.
The Pine Hollow Arboretum StoryWalk joins the one established earlier this summer at the Elm Avenue Park in a collaboration between the library and the Town of Bethlehem Parks and Recreation.
Our StoryWalks are supported by funds from the New York State Library’s Family Literacy Library Services Program and by Upper Hudson Upper Hudson Library System.
Are you more of a homebody? You can also enjoy a family story time from the comfort of your own living room. Our Virtual Family Storytime takes place every Wednesday at 2 p.m. from now until Nov. 25. In this interactive story time for children ages 0 to 6 and their families. To sign up for one or more story times, visit our online calendar (bethlehem.librarycalendar.com), and select the date or dates you are interested in.