By Pamela West-Finkle
Hello friends and neighbors! We hope you are enjoying this beautiful Catskill Mountain Summer. I know my garden is about to explode with produce as the balance of sunshine and rain has really helped the vegetable growth. I hope your victory gardens have abundant yields!
We reopened the library to the public, allowing patrons in one at a time, from July 9th to 13th. We were not as inundated as I anticipated, but a number of people were able to come browse. Unfortunately, we had a scare and I saw firsthand how it takes only one possible infection to spread to many. Thankfully all test results were negative, but the caution has remained.
At the July meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Board voted to take a conservative approach to reopening the library. Curbside/porch pickup service will continue Monday through Thursday during our regularly scheduled operating hours (Monday and Wednesday 11-4, Tuesday 1-6, and Thursday 4-7.) Fax, scanning, and copy services are also available during that time. The WiFi is available in the gazebo, in the parking lot, and on the porch 24/7 and no password is required. Just login from your browser. The library may have volunteers and interns working on barcoding on Fridays and Saturdays, but public services will not be available. We apologize for the inconvenience.
I will also offer discretionary 30-minute appointments to browse or use the public access computers. Please contact me Monday through Thursday by emailing an.ill@4cls.org or calling 845-676-3333. To protect the safety of our staff, volunteers, and all other patrons, you will be asked some health assessment and travel questions. If granted an appointment, you will be required to wear a mask and wash hands or use hand sanitizer before touching library materials or surfaces. If you refuse this, you will not be given admittance to the library.
I also recommend signing in with the date of your visit to our contact tracing log. It is purely voluntary, but when we briefly opened, over half of our visitors refused to sign it. None of your personal information will be shared or used for any purpose except notifying you in case a positive case of the virus is reported in the library. I cannot remember who comes in from day to day, so for your own safety we highly recommend it.
If you’ve recently moved to the community and you don’t have a Four County Library Card, please stop by and pick up an application from the porch. You will not only have access to our materials, but you can order books, movies, CDs, audiobooks, eBooks, eMagazines, and more from www.4cls.org using your library barcode number and four digit PIN. Please let me know if I can assist you with this. Our deliveries are Mondays and Wednesdays for interlibrary loans.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer!~