If you haven’t already been to the library this summer, we invite you back for yet more expanded hours and services. As of this month, we are fully open for business Monday and Tuesday from 12–7 p.m. and Wednesday through Saturday from 10–5 p.m. Many of you are still taking advantage of our curbside pick-up service, and we encourage you to do that if you would prefer.
We are following state and local guidelines by not requiring masks or social distancing for vaccinated individuals; if you enter the library without a mask, we will simply assume that you have received the vaccine. We are excited that the library is there for you to sit back and relax with a good book for a little while in an air conditioned facility this summer.
Many of you have been hoping to donate books and other materials to our Friends of the Library for their periodic sales. For the moment, the Friends would like everyone to know that they are still unable to accept additional donations. It is hard to imagine the number of materials that they are already dealing with — over 175 boxes at last count — and they need to resume regular sales before they will be able to take on additional books.
Thank you all for your patience and understanding throughout this entire year. We know that all of us in the community have endured a lot, and it has given our staff a lot of joy to do what we’ve been able to do for our community even though we would rather have been fully open and pandemic-free. We are really looking forward to a few months of recovery and joy and hoping for continuous improvement toward the “next chapter” of our city and county.
Our summer reading programs are in full swing and we have already handed out numerous weekly prizes. If you haven’t already been tracking your reading minutes, we highly recommend it. Any week that you participate in our program through the Beanstack app, you are entered into a prize drawing on the following Monday. All weekly prizes — three each week (one each for children, teens and adults) — are $25 gift cards for local businesses. We also have been continuing with our virtual programming. Upcoming events of particular note include a presentation on how to build credit on Saturday, July 17 from 2–3 p.m. and a conversation with author Jeff Chang (“We Gon’ Be Alright?”) from 4–5 p.m. on Saturday, July 24.
Recently, we’ve begun offering new DVD Binge Boxes for your televisual enjoyment. We often find that customers are looking for several movies on the same topic or with some kind of connection, and these handy collections provide exactly that. Several films with the same theme, like “Can You Smell What the Rock is Cookin’?” or “Stop Saving Matt Damon” are included in each box. Borrow one today at the library.
This month, our second Summer Story Walk is up and running at Giorgi Park. Through a partnership between the library and the City of Healdsburg, visitors will find 17 panels while meandering through the park. Each panel features a different page of the book, “Hello, Little One,” by Zeena M. Pliska, illustrated by Fiona Halliday, and including Spanish translations by our own Sonoma County Library staff. In addition to viewing the pages of the book, readers will learn about Monarch butterflies and have the opportunity to try out some activities that will get your kids moving. This Story Walk will be up through the end of July.
Jon Haupt is the branch manager of the Healdsburg Regional Library.
