Free webinar: We Are the Alexandria Library Sit-In

In 1939, five Black men walked into the all-white Alexandria (Va.) Library and asked for library cards. When they were turned down, each of them silently took a seat and began reading.

Learn how the library commemorated the 80^th anniversary of this historic protest in a free webinar from ALA’s Public Programs Office / Programming Librarian.

“ALA’s Excellence in Library Programming Award Presents: We Are the Alexandria Library Sit-In”

Wednesday, August 5, 1-2 p.m. Central Time - Cost: Free

+Register for the webinar: https://programminglibrarian.org/learn/excellence-library-programming-award-presents-we-are-alexandria-library-sit

+Read a Q&A with the library director https://programminglibrarian.org/articles/doing-right-history-we-are-alexandria-library-sit

Go to our Face Book page to see JoAnn Fralick present online storytime with "A Color of His Own" by Leo Lionni. She has prepared simple craft kits to go with the story. Pick one up at the library for each child who will be watching.

We put out the OPEN flag Monday July 13 at 10:00 a.m. We owe a big thank you to the folks at Run By Dogs for supporting our efforts to open with an offer to provide whatever we needed. We also have to thank the patrons who have waited so patiently and went along with our restrictions for curbside pick up. We will continue to provide that service for anyone who prefers it. Masks and social distancing are required in the library to protect you and our staff, and we ask that you recognize that we are not yet able to be open for programming, visiting, extended browsing or lengthy computer use. Hand sanitizer is available as you enter and we request that you use it before handling any library materials. Please do not reshelve. If you take an item off the shelf but decide you don't want it, please place it on our cart. Computer keyboards have been covered for easy cleaning. Please do not remove the covers.

Come on in. Grab as many books as you can carry and up to five dvds. It's been a long four months.

We have good news from the computer wizards who work electronic magic and from our school district. The wizards figured out at way to integrate the Sora app that students use in school with Overdrive which accesses the collections of our libraries. The wise folks in the Sharon Springs School District have signed on to this integration to give students this access. You can access a (reportedly lengthy) webinar for more details at https://company.overdrive.com/k-12-schools/sora…

Welcome back to the library! 

We will be opening the doors for our regular hours on Monday, July 13 for “Grab and Go” browsing and limited computer use. Patrons are encouraged to come into library to choose a book or movie with masks and social distancing rules observed. Hand sanitizer will be available when you come in and we hope you will use it before handling any materials. Please do not reshelve any books or materials once you have touched them. Just place them on the cart for us to quarantine.  All returns must be dropped in the Drop Box on our porch. We have arranged three computers six feet apart for use with covered keyboards. Each area will be cleaned after each use. We will not be scheduling in person programming until later, but we will continue to post resources on our Face Book page and blog site. Right now, we want to make our collections available to you. We have posted signs that will keep us in compliance with New York State regulations. Please abide by these to protect other patrons and our staff.

Some materials from other libraries have begun to circulate. We will continue to provide curbside service for anyone who chooses not to come in past the lobby.

We are looking forward to seeing your masked face, and we hope to be able to continue to maintain almost normal operations for the foreseeable future. We will resist the urge to hug you when we see you.