Greetings! I hope you all are well. It’s been such a strange time for all of us, and I don’t want to minimize that, but I am happy to say that there are things to be grateful for. After a long period of not being able to see our patrons or even talk to them, we are back in business again, although at a distance.
Most libraries, including ours, are still closed. A few are partially open, but practicing great care in terms of contact. In the most meaningful way, though, we can serve you again, we can talk to you and we can even see you!
On that subject, we are now able to resume ordering new materials. During most of our shutdown, we have not been ordering books, CDs, DVDs or audiobooks. Some of the vendors were completely closed and some delivery providers were not delivering. All that is successfully over, and, clutching our money in our fists, we are tearing through catalogs to catch up.
There can still be a few wrinkles – our vendors are short-staffed in many cases, as some of the libraries in the network are. But, as I write this, there are six huge boxes of new fiction in our Community Room waiting to be cataloged, and an enormous nonfiction order on the way. We also have new films, CDs and audiobooks, and our network is available to order holds from as well.
So here is some of the good news: John Grisham, “Camino Winds;” John Sandford, “Masked Prey;” Lucy Foley, “The Guest List;” James Patterson, “The 1st Case” (and many more); Jennifer Weiner, “Big Summer;” Emma Straub, “All Adults Here;” Linda Castillo, “Outsider;” Kevin Kwan, “Sex and Vanity;” Danielle Steel, “The Wedding Dress;” Elin Hilderbrand, “28 Summers;” Louise Penny, “All the Devils are Here;” Jim Butcher, “Peace Talks;” and David Baldacci, “Walk the Wire” Many of these will be available in large print and audiobooks as well.
Our Hallmark movies have been such a success, we now have a selection of Hallmark books that are based on the movies. Just search Hallmark under All Fields in the catalog and there they are! Their bright covers are an antidote to the news of the day; just get onto the couch and dive in.
In nonfiction, a selection includes “Across That Bridge,” by John Lewis; “The Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook” by Elisa Bildner; “The Kidnap Years,” by David Stout; and “Too Much and Never Enough,” by Mary L. Trump.
The movies in the lineup include “Mr. Robot, Season 4;” “Midsommer Murders, Series 21;” “The Way Back;” “Uncut Gems;” “The Hunt;” “Burnt Orange Heresy;” “The Wretched;” ‘Yes, God, Yes and I Still Believe.”
I wish I could list them all, but be assured that there is much more to come. Our director, Marcie, can be found on the floor of the Community Room, licking her chops as she puts the shiny new volumes on carts. It’s pretty rare that we buy this much at one time, but we have a lot of time to make up. Meanwhile, our curbside pickup is doing big business, and even with the new books just starting to come in, our patrons are catching up on books they otherwise would have read in the past three or four months.
Central Site is working on the last few bugs, but it is wonderful to talk to so many of you and get some news of your doings.
We follow what I laughingly call the scientific approach, but we do keep abreast of the spread of the virus through official sites and by checking Governor Baker’s press conferences. By necessity, we err on the side of caution. We are also given updates by our own town government and board of health, the two bodies who will make decisions on opening. Be assured that we quarantine everything that comes in—this may show up as overdue books, but don’t worry.
As for our Summer Reading, the new missions ended officially on Aug. 5, but the program continued through Aug. 26. Prizes can be picked up (one at a time per person at curbside) through Sept. 9. Stephanie encourages families to repeat activities for fun.
One reminder: if you place a hold from home, that does not mean it is instantly available at the library. We get reports during the day of holds that have been placed—we have to wait for the reports to be generated.
If you get an email notice of a hold being available, call to make an appointment to pick it up. Otherwise, please wait for us to call and let you know that it is ready. But certainly, call anytime with questions. We are glad we have some good news for you. Cheers!